Allison Pataki

The Revolutionary War history of her town inspired Pataki to write her first book The Traitor's Wife based on the life of Benedict Arnold.^[8] The book explored a romantic triangle involving Arnold and also his roles in the Revolutionary War.^[4] Her book became a New York Times bestseller.^[9] Kirkus Reviews wrote that "Pataki delivers an admirable book focused on the betrayal."^[10]

Pataki's second and third books, also New York Times bestsellers, were The Accidental Empress and Sisi: Empress On Her Own, inspired by Pataki's family roots in the former Austro-Hungarian Empire.^[11][12] Kirkus Reviews felt that The Accidental Empress did not "stray far from the conventions of novels about royalty."^[13] Publishers Weekly wrote that the historical research for Sisi was "evident as she deftly explores the complex life of a woman who was both loved and hated by those whom she ruled."^[14] Kirkus Reviews wrote that Sisi was "a satisfying saga of the late Habsburg period."^[15]

Pataki's fourth book, Where the Light Falls, was released on July 11, 2017, and is co-authored with her brother Owen Pataki.^[16] Kirkus Reviews wrote that this book was also well-researched, but "sheer talkiness too often overpower the narrative, and the swashbucking close is too little, too late."^[16]

Pataki has written for ABCNews.com, The Huffington Post, FoxNews.com, Travel Girl, and other media outlets.^[17]

In 2016, Pataki wrote a piece for The New York Times^[18] detailing her family's experience with traumatic brain injury and recovery. In 2015, Pataki's husband, David Levy, suffered a near-fatal stroke while the couple were on board a flight to Seattle. Published in 2018, her book Beauty in the Broken Places chronicled that experience.

• The Traitor's Wife: The Woman Behind Benedict Arnold and the Plan to Betray America (2014), published by Howard Books, a division of Simon & Schuster ISBN 978-1476738604
• The Accidental Empress (2015), published by Howard Books a division of Simon & Schuster ISBN 978-1476794747
• Sisi, Empress on Her Own (2016), published by The Dial Press, a division of Penguin Random House ISBN 978-0812989335
• Where the Light Falls: A Novel of the French Revolution (2018) published by The Dial Press, a division of Penguin Random House ISBN 978-0399591686
• Beauty in the Broken Places: A Memoir of Love, Faith, and Resilience (2018), published by Random House ISBN 978-0399591655
• Nelly Takes New York: A Little Girl's Adventures in the Big Apple (Big City Adventures) (2019), published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers ISBN 978-1534425040
• The Queen's Fortune: A Novel of Desiree, Napoleon, and the Dynasty (2020), published by Ballantine Books ISBN 978-0593128183
• Poppy Takes Paris: A Little Girl's Adventures in the City of Light (Big City Adventures) (2020), published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers ISBN 978-1534425064
• The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post (2022), published by Ballantine Books
• Finding Margaret Fuller (2024)