Fritz is a captivating storyteller, and the major strength of Traitor is the fastpaced plot line. She carefully selects anecdotes that highlight character traits in Arnold and the other historical figures she portrays. Fritz also uses setting effectively, especially in contrasting the hardships of the upstate New York wilderness with the opulence of Philadelphia. These contrasts help build sympathy for Arnold, who can be seen at times as a man with just grievances.

Fritz does not search for symbols to lend her narrative larger significance.

Instead, she uses the familiar image of money as an emblem of Arnold's grasping for material satisfaction. Although Fritz makes no direct connections between the two men, lurking in the background of this portrait of America's most famous turncoat is the image of the world's most renowned traitor, Judas Iscariot, the man who betrays Christ for thirty pieces of silver in...