Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    From $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Defiant Brides: The Untold Story of Two Revolutionary-Era Women and the Radical Men They Married
    Defiant Brides: The Untold Story of Two Revolutionary-Era Women and the Radical Men They Married
    Defiant Brides: The Untold Story of Two Revolutionary-Era Women and the Radical Men They Married
    Audiobook9 hours

    Defiant Brides: The Untold Story of Two Revolutionary-Era Women and the Radical Men They Married

    Written by Nancy Rubin Stuart

    Narrated by Ann M. Richardson

    3.5/5

    ()

    Switch to ebook

    About this audiobook

    Get a “fresh perspective on the American Revolution” as an award-winning author reveals the true story of two young women who defied their Loyalist families to marry radical patriots, Henry Knox and Benedict Arnold (Shelf Awareness).

    When Peggy Shippen, the celebrated blonde belle of Philadelphia, married American military hero Benedict Arnold in 1779, she anticipated a life of fame and fortune, but financial debts and political intrigues prompted her to conspire with her treasonous husband against George Washington and the American Revolution. In spite of her commendable efforts to rehabilitate her husband’s name, Peggy Shippen continues to be remembered as a traitor bride.

    Peggy’s patriotic counterpart was Lucy Flucker, the spirited and voluptuous brunette, who in 1774 defied her wealthy Tory parents by marrying a poor Boston bookbinder simply for love. When her husband, Henry Knox, later became a famous general in the American Revolutionary War, Lucy faithfully followed him through Washington’s army camps where she birthed and lost babies, befriended Martha Washington, was praised for her social skills, and secured her legacy as an admired patriot wife.

    And yet, as esteemed biographer Nancy Rubin Stuart reveals, a closer look at the lives of both spirited women reveals that neither was simply a “traitor” or “patriot.” In Defiant Brides, the first dual biography of both Peggy Shippen Arnold and Lucy Flucker Knox, Stuart has crafted a rich portrait of two rebellious women who defied expectations and struggled—publicly and privately—in a volatile political moment in early America.

    Drawing from never-before-published correspondence, Stuart traces the evolution of these women from passionate teenage brides to mature matrons, bringing both women from the sidelines of history to its vital center. Readers will be enthralled by Stuart’s dramatic account of the epic lives of these defiant brides, which begin with romance, are complicated by politics, and involve spies, disappointments, heroic deeds, tragedies, and personal triumphs.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBeacon Press Audio
    Release dateApr 12, 2022
    ISBN9780807007211

    Related to Defiant Brides

    Related audiobooks

    United States History For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • UNLIMITED

      How The American Revolution Played In British Drawing Rooms

      Sep 1, 2021

      In “The Howe Dynasty,” historian Julie Flavell explores the lives of two famed commanders fighting the Americans, told through the letters of their eldest sister.

      3 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Spaulding's Funeral

      Sep 7, 2021

      Spaulding's Funeral
      19 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      'A View Of The Empire At Sunset' Uses Author Jean Rhys To Explore 'Otherness'

      Jun 13, 2018

      Novelist Caryl Phillips uses the life of author Jean Rhys to return to once again explore themes of racism and colonialism.

      3 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Complete Picture

      May 3, 2021

      Complete Picture
      2 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Washington’s Other Woman

      Jan 22, 2019

      Washington’s Other Woman
      6 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      IDA B WELLS American Heroine

      Feb 24, 2022

      IDA B WELLS American Heroine
      8 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      A Klansman’s Horrific Reign

      Aug 15, 2023

      A Klansman’s Horrific Reign
      12 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      10 Books To Get You Feeling Grateful For Thanksgiving

      Nov 14, 2019

      Winter is a time to look back on the year and prepare for the future. Get in a thoughtful mood with the 10 best books of November 2019.

      2 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Must See, Must Read

      Mar 1, 2022

      Must See, Must Read
      14 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Churchill’s Mommie Dearest

      Jun 2, 2021

      Jennie Churchill, Winston’s American mother, died shockingly prematurely 100 years ago this month, on 29th June 1921, after a fall downstairs. She was 67 and in the prime of life, newly married to a man 20 years younger and had finally found a way of

      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Over The Sea To Skye

      Sep 21, 2022

      Over The Sea To Skye
      4 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Britain In Black And White

      May 11, 2018

      Britain In Black And White
      12 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Life Beyond The Margins

      Mar 14, 2024

      On the evening of 7 May 1945, Lancashire housewife Nella Last and her husband, Will, gathered around the radio with their neighbours. They agreed that if the announcer said the king was to speak, they knew that the big day had come at last. When, ins

      7 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Spotlight on Biography & Memoir

      Jun 5, 2024

      1967: How I Got There and Why I Never Left. By Robyn Hitchcock. July 2024. 224p. Akashic, $26.95 (9781636142067). 780. Robyn Hitchcock, the English singer and guitarist and former member of the Soft Boys and later the Egyptians, is a sui generis figu

      29 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Bending the Arc

      Dec 4, 2017

      With all the hoopla this year over Canada 150, and amid the energies and dollars directed at celebrating our national story, I have been thinking about local history and why it matters. Our readers are deeply engaged in research about their families.

      4 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      The First Lady

      Nov 1, 2019

      The First Lady
      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      10 Fantastic May Books To Whisk You Away

      May 14, 2019

      Our 10 best picks for May celebrate lively fiction, true-life adventure, and the history of America's post-Civil War Reconstruction era.

      2 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      What’s In A Name

      Sep 7, 2023

      What’s In A Name
      22 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Catherine the Tyrant?

      Feb 23, 2023

      Catherine the Tyrant?
      11 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      The Propagandists

      Aug 7, 2018

      The Propagandists
      8 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      A Fairytale Beginning

      Apr 18, 2021

      A Fairytale Beginning
      2 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Animal Tracks

      Jul 24, 2018

      Animal Tracks
      4 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      The Many Wives Of Ned Buntline

      Nov 27, 2018

      The woman Levanch [sic] L. Swart, who claimed to have been married to my late husband Edward Z.C. Carroll Judson, he always said was not his legal wife. She blackmailed him and did a great many things to annoy him and came here to Stamford after we w

      10 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Defiant Brides

    3.5/5

    9 ratings2 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      I found this book to be disappointing reading. The women covered are Margaret Shippen Arnold -- wife of the traitor Benedict Arnold -- and Lucy Flucker Knox -- wife of Secretary of War Henry Knox. Although the women were portrayed, much of the story concerned their husbands, including military campaigns, etc. (Probably this should not be surprising since the title mentions Revolutionary-Era.) Both of the women were raised in families who ended up either being Tories or British sympathizers during the war, and both wanted to live as upper class women. Margaret Shippen Arnold aided her husband in his traitorous actions; Lucy Flucker Knox often complained to her husband about her hardships during and after the war.

      The book lacks family trees and lists identifying major characters, both of which would have been very helpful in reading the book.
    • 5/5
      This is a very engaging piecing together of the lives of two women who are little known in United States history. Though they never met, the two led parallel lives during the American Revolution and the years that followed.

      Because of his infamous treason, Peggy Shippen Arnold's husband Benedict is much better known to history than Lucy Flucker Knox's husband Henry Knox. Knox was, however, an extremely important figure in George Washington's army. He was also the new nation's first Secretary of War.

      Life was not easy for either woman. Their marriages to military men forced long periods of separation, frequent moves,and genteel poverty. Neither of their husband's had much business sense, but both women loved to entertain. Both families lived well beyond their means. Knox eventually straightened out his finances but his family was left with little. Peggy Arnold was stunned by the huge amount of debt left behind when her husband died.

      In the case of Lucy Knox, her marriage left her estranged from her loyalist family which resettled in England after fleeing the Revolution. Peggy Arnold was separated from her family by her decision to follow her husband into exile to London.

      This well researched books brings to light the lives of two interesting women and the hardships faced during the war and after. An excellent read.

      The copy I read was from my local public library.