Joyce Lee Malcolm

The Tragedy of Benedict Arnold: An American Life

Joyce Lee Malcolm discusses her re-examination of one of young America’s most complicated figures: the war hero turned infamous traitor, Benedict Arnold.

From the publisher

A vivid and timely re-examination of one of young America’s most complicated figures: the war hero turned infamous traitor, Benedict Arnold.

Proud and talented, history now remembers this conflicted man solely through the lens of his last desperate act of treason. Yet the fall of Benedict Arnold remains one of the Revolutionary period’s great puzzles. Why did a brilliant military commander, who repeatedly risked his life fighting the British, who was grievously injured in the line of duty, and fell into debt personally funding his own troops, ultimately became a traitor to the patriot cause?

Malcolm skillfully unravels the man behind the myth and gives us a portrait of the true Arnold and his world. There was his dramatic victory against the British at Saratoga in 1777 and his troubled childhood in a pre-revolutionary America beset with class tension and economic instability. We witness his brilliant wartime military exploits and his contentious relationship with a newly formed and fractious Congress, who were fearful of powerful military leaders.

[Recorded February 11, 2021 and rebroadcasted on December 12, 2024.]