Set in 17th century New England and partly in Cromwellian England, The Traitor's Wife is a work of fiction but many of the novel's chief characters are based on actual people. Two of the key protagonists are Thomas Carrier, a former army officer who had fought in the English Civil War and Martha Allen a servant girl in her cousin's home. The Traitor’s Wife captures the compelling love story between Martha and Thomas as they try to forget their past as well as telling the reader quite brilliantly about the haunting legacy he in particular must live with. A past that threatens to engulf them even in the remotest parts of New England. Kathleen Kent is an extremely clever and talented writer for she really gets the reader under the skin of the characters and the sights and sounds of the settings are well wrought. It's a book any reader will enjoy curling up with but more than that it's a book that you'll want to think about afterwards so it's perfect for 'reading group' discussion.Click here to view some reading group questions on The Traitor’s Wife. This is Kathleen's second novel. Her first is The Heretic's Daughter.
In the harsh wilderness of colonial Massachusetts, Martha Allen works as a servant in her cousin's home, taking charge of the neglected household and locking wills with everyone around her - including a mysterious Welshman who works for the family, a man whose forceful nature matches her own. Thomas Carrier is known throughout New England for his immense strength and height, and as Martha discovers pieces of his past, and his role as a soldier in the English Civil War, her fascination of him grows. But in the rugged new world they inhabit, danger is ever present, near and far. In London, King Charles II is assembling a crew of assassins to capture or kill the man who executed his father. As the threat of the assassins draws closer, Martha and Thomas' relationship deepens and grows, and Thomas suddenly has everything to lose. It seems that even in the remotest parts of New England, he cannot be free from the haunting legacy of his past.
Kathleen Kent is a New York Times bestselling author and a two-time Edgar Award Nominee. She has also written the award-winning historical novels The Heretic's Daughter,The Traitor's Wife, and The Outcasts, and been published in the crime anthology Dallas Noir. In March 2020 she was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters for her contribution to Texas literature.
