Abducting Arnold by Becky Akers

A Historical Novel of the American Revolution and Its Notorious Traitor, Benedict Arnold—Or Was He?

Abducting Arnold by Becky Akers : https://tiny.cc/2ws38x
Abducting Arnold by Becky Akers : https://tiny.cc/2ws38x
AmmoLand Gun News
AmmoLand Gun News

United States -(AmmoLand.com)- With her second novel, Becky Akers has apparently traveled back in time to bring us this true-to-the-period, true-to-life tale of Benedict Arnold.

Make no mistake: this isn’t the cardboard villain everyone loves to hate. Rather, Akers presents a real, flesh-and-blood man with the usual quota of vices—and virtues.

As readers laugh and cry with General Arnold, the author explores such themes as the meaning of betrayal and belonging; what makes a man—or a young woman, for that matter—heroic; the significance of family, autonomy and honor; the inestimable value of personal and political freedom.

Abducting Arnold is historical fiction at its best. It richly dramatizes the American Revolution’s most brilliant officer while turning little-known history into an edge-of-your-seat thriller.

Through flashbacks and fireside storytelling, the novel’s opening chapters introduce General Arnold as the Patriots’ most outstanding hero. He defeats the Redcoats time and again, despite impossible odds.

But then he falls with a wound so severe it cripples him for life. Loath to lose the services of his invaluable commander, General George Washington appoints him military governor of Philadelphia. There Arnold clashes with self-serving politicians who are pulling off a coup inside the Revolution—and Arnold can stop them only by cooperating with the British Army. His fellow American officers foil this “treachery” in the nick of time, and Arnold flees to British lines in New York City, the most wanted man in America.

Three months later, a young woman joins him. Clem Shippen is as skilled in the kitchen as she is homely, a cousin-in-law with scarce prospects for marriage who has previously served as Arnold’s cook. But this time there’s an added ingredient: she is also a spy for General George Washington. He hopes to kidnap the “traitor” and smuggle him back to American lines for trial and execution with Clem’s enthusiastic help.

Enthusiastic, that is, until she realizes Arnold may be a hero after all—and uncovers explosive information tying her fate and that of the new country to his…

A novel of espionage, heartbreakingly close calls, and profound betrayal, Abducting Arnold puts readers there, in the middle of the American Revolution, from the book’s opening pages to its surprising denouement. Order copies today, not only for personal enjoyment but as gifts for anyone who savors intrigue, espionage thrillers, and vivid historical fiction.

“If you think you know about this part of American history, if think you are woefully ignorant about this part of American history, … if you love a thrilling read, then buy and read this book. It’s a gem.”
–Christopher S. on amazon.com

“A hearty commendation to Ms. Akers, who is not only a fine historian of colonial America, but a gifted novelist as well.”
–Dr. John on amazon.com

“This book has everything you want in historical fiction but never seem to get. As a novel, the suspense carries you all the way to the finish…”
–Non-voter in California on amazon.com

ABDUCTING ARNOLD; Quackenduck Books; 978-0-9882032-2-8
476 pages; $19.95; also available as an e-book for $2.99

About the Author:

Becky Akers is a free-lance writer and historian who publishes so voluminously that whole forests of gigabytes have died. You’ve heard of some of the outlets that carry her work (Christian Science Monitor, Washington Post, Barron’s, New York Post, American History Magazine, Independent Review, Military History Magazine, Ottawa Citizen, forbes.com, alternet.com, dailycaller.com, wnd.com); others can only wish you’d heard of them. She’s also written two novels of the American Revolution, Halestorm and its sequel, Abducting Arnold. She lives in New York City, where she daily pines to encounter the ghosts of Benedict Arnold and Clem Shippen…

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Kevin

I have taught US history for many years. I have not read this book but I can tell you that Arnold was an extraordinary tactical commander. If you doubt this just Google Valcour Island and read of that account, one not usually highlighted because Arnold was the American commander. Or read an account of the Saratoga campaign and watch as Arnold’s name comes up again and again. There is no doubt that Arnold was treated shabbily by the Congress over some very petty matters (even Washington admitted that) and had he been properly treated I doubt he ever would have… Read more »

robert

Nicely put! Yes, we love arriving at black & white conclusions about historical figures, but as you suggest, the truth is far more complex. And there was plenty of what many would consider treachery — or at the very least, mistreatment — by folks like Washington himself. Take, for example, the bloody suppression in the late 18th c. of the rather amazing Kentucky bartering system that had functioned perfectly well for generations. Or another bloody massacre in western Mass., when veterans of the Revolutionary War demanded of the Feds the land and money they’d been promised for their service. Those… Read more »

2War Abn Vet

Then there’s the additional element of pretty Peggy Shippen, Andre’s friend, and Arnold’s wife, who suborned betrayal on a daily basis.