The Traitor’s Wife, by Kathleen Kent
I came upon this book in my favorite bookstore, the Strand. It had not been recommended to me by anyone and I’m not sure how popular it ever was/is, but I found this book intriguing. It is the story of a strong-headed, outspoken woman, Martha, who gets involved with a mysterious man with a complicated past in the mid-1600’s in the British colonies of New England. It seems that the man has a connection to the uprising and killing of the British King Charles I by Oliver Cromwell and the current King Charles is seeking revenge.
It is a time that I’ve rarely read about and the history here was fascinating to me. (I am a poor student of history — a baby, really!– and need to be fed the details of history within the context of a personal story.) There is romance and intrigue and suspense in this story but it is based very closely on real events. It is also written in a sometimes flowery and sometimes very coarse language that matches the goings on in the story. The author also creates some wonderful and some evil characters that are extremely engaging. I particularly loved Martha, whose fault was that she spoke her mind in a time when woman were seen as witches when they did so.
I found it to be a quick, intriguing read and learned a lot from it. Hope you enjoy it!
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