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[Published by J.B. Lippincott Company, 1938]

This rather old and very strange book is subtitled "The Romance of Peggy Shippen and John André," but its focus is definitely on Peggy Shippen Arnold. To say the author has some odd ideas concerning the truth of her life is an understatement. If, as Doc M likes to say, John André is James Bond in knee breeches, then Haines envisions Peggy as Modesty Blaise in panniers. Not only does he make her the driving force behind Benedict Arnold's shift in allegiances, he assigns her the role of one of Sir Henry Clinton's top agents throughout the war. Practically from the beginning of the rebellion, she's shown racing about -- often in men's clothing -- spying, carrying secret information and generally behaving in a hoydenish fashion that would have given the real Peggy's ultra-conservative father a heart attack on the spot.

As I say, it's a strange book, but it's also a rather delightful one, if only for the constant surprises Haines throws out re. what's going on in the espionage war of the Revolution. My reading suggests the reality was strange enough, but in Exquisite Siren we have Sir William Howe's mistress, Lizzie Loring (called Jane Loring in here, for unknown reasons) as the ultimate Mata Hari of the war, funneling confidences to Washington and manipulating Sir Billy like a puppet. Horatio Gates is on Clinton's payroll. (Well, admittedly that would explain so much.) Oh, the list goes on. Many of the individual elements have been put forward as hypotheses over the years, but I've never before seen so many of them combined in a single novel. You really need a score card to remember who's passing information to which side(s) at various points in the plot. In fact, I think Haines got himself confused a few times and changed his story -- or at least forgot which characters had which bits of information.

Most of the book is seen from a Loyalist perspective, though Haines doesn't present either side as "good" or "bad." As Peggy and John's chief opponents, Aaron Burr and Benjamin Tallmadge fall naturally into the roles of villains, but they're given sympathetic portrayals. The only individual presented as truly villainous is Benedict Arnold, though Haines has nothing good to say about either the Continental Congress or the War Office in London.

Even though I bought this book for my John André collection, I ended up enjoying Ban Tarleton in it more than I did John, who is reduced to such a noble, romantic figure that he doesn't have a lot of personality. Haines seems entirely unaware of the Southern Campaign's existence, for Lord Cornwallis, Banastre and Harry Lee are all up to their ears in the fighting around New York through October 1780. He presents Ban as a colonel in command of the Legion during the occupation of Philadelphia, and makes a whole list of other historical faux pas, but given that he was writing in the 1930s this is far more understandable than more recent efforts -- and given the fact that his Banastre is thoroughly enjoyable, I'm willing to forgive him. He's gotten a lot of personality characteristics right, producing a flashy, impetuous rogue in the school of Rupert of Hentzau. It's closer to reality than many interpretations and vastly more enjoyable than most of them.

There's no trace of the Butcher myths here, though Haines does make Banastre thoroughly unscrupulous where women are concerned. In an effort to get rid of her nemesis, John André, Mrs. Loring orchestrates a situation where Ban wins a night in Peggy's bed in a card game -- thanks to a euphemistically worded bet, the significance of which Peggy doesn't understand -- and he's so ungentlemanly as to insist on collecting. John André storms in to the rescue at the critical moment, and he and Ban end up fighting a duel. That bit of weirdness aside, Ban is mostly seen in a role he did fulfill: efficient, ambitious leader of a strike force that could be dispatched on lightning raids deep into enemy lines.

Used copies of this book seem fairly easy to find. I picked mine up cheap on Bibliofind. Whether it's worth finding depends on whether you enjoy bizarre flights of imagination populated by familiar names. I enjoyed it, but then I have a warped sense of humor. If twisted history drives you bug-nuts, this is a good book to avoid.