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Benjamin Franklin's Bastard
Sally Cabot
William Morrow
May 2013
On Sale: May 7, 2013
368 pages ISBN: 0062241923 EAN: 9780062241924 Kindle: B009NF6F8E Hardcover / e-Book
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Historical | Fiction Family Life
An absorbing and compelling work of literary historical
fiction, set in colonial Philadelphia, that brings to life a
little-known chapter of the American Revolution—the story of
Benjamin Franklin and his bastard son, and the women who
loved them Sixteen-year-old Anne is an uneducated serving girl at the
Penny Pot tavern when she first meets the commanding
Benjamin Franklin. The time she spends with the brilliant
young printer teases her curious mind, and the money he
provides keeps her family from starving. But the ambitious
Franklin is committed to someone else, a proper but
infatuated woman named Deborah Read who becomes his common-
law wife. At least Anne has William, her cherished infant
son, to remind her of his father and to soften some of
life's bleakness. But growing up a bastard amid the squalor of Eades Alley
isn't the life Anne wants for her only son. Acutely aware of
the challenges facing them, she makes a heartbreaking
sacrifice. She will give up William forever, allowing
Benjamin and Deborah Franklin to raise him as their own. Though she cannot be with him, Anne secretly watches out for
her beloved child, daring to be close to him without
revealing the truth about herself or his birth, and standing
guard as Deborah Franklin struggles to accept her husband's
bastard son as her own. As the years pass, the bustling colonies grow and prosper,
offering opportunities for wealth and power for a talented
man like William's father. Benjamin's growing fame and
connections as a scientist, writer, philosopher,
businessman, and political genius open doors for the astute
William as well, and eventually King George III appoints
Benjamin's bastard son to the new position of Royal Governor
of New Jersey. Anne's fortunes also rise. A shrewd woman of
many talents, she builds a comfortable life of her own—yet
nothing fills her with more joy or pride than her son's
success and happiness. But all that her accomplished son has achieved is threatened
when the colonies—led by influential men, including his own
father—begin the fight for independence. A steadfast, loyal
subject of the British Crown, William cannot accept his
father's passionate defense of the patriots' cause, and the
enduring bond they share fractures, a heart-wrenching break
that will forever haunt them and those they love. A poignant tale of passion, family, love, and war, Benjamin
Franklin's Bastard skillfully brings into focus a cast of
remarkable characters drawn from real life, and vividly re-
creates one of the most remarkable and thrilling periods of
history—the birth of the American nation.
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