Benjamin Frankiln’s Bastard by Sally Cabot is an absorbing and compelling work of literary historical fiction 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 both.William Franklin, the son of Benjamin and his favorite mistress, Anne, is raised by Deborah, Benjamin’s wife. A steadfast loyalist, … steadfast loyalist, he and his father cannot reconcile their wildly disparate views, causing a rift in the bond both thought unbreakable.
Fascinating and heartbreaking, Benjamin Franklin’s Bastard is a gripping tale of family, love, and war, set against one of America’s most fascinating periods of history.
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Based on primary sources and conjecture. Interesting insight to the family and times.
This was an informative, easy-to-read historical fiction. Now I’m in the process of fact-checking as much as possible many of the things about Franklin and his son that I learned while reading. I recommend.
I was very disappointed with the duplication of the ending of the story and then to find out it wasn’t true.
This book represents why I love historical fiction. I loved the mixing of historical fact with fiction. Like politicians in today’s world, our historical founders in America were not always the moral heroes as represented in American history classes. Benjamin Franklin was a great scientist and an important statesman but appears to have few acceptable human morals especially in his treatment of women in his life. I understand that much of the book (especially Anne the mother of his first son, William) was not based on fact. I admired how the author made this character a strong woman that made choices (not always the best but understanding that during those times a women was very limited) based on her love for her child and possibly her love for Benjamin. It was also interesting to watch William (who as a child) idolized his father but would grow up and become
a loyalist and how this played a huge impact on his relationship with his father.
Great Read!
I enjoy well-written historical fiction and this novel definitely fills the bill! Based on the fact that Franklin did have a son born to a women to whom he was not married (but no one has ever been 100% sure who she was), this book builds a very interesting story and creates characters the reader will care deeply about and understand, almost wishing it was all true. Set against the backdrop of the growing demand for independence, “Benjamin Franklin’s Bastard” is worth a read to anyone who enjoys history and a good book!
Really well done historical novel; excellent reading. Franklin did indeed have an illegitimate son, and he and his common-law wife raised the boy. Ben and son did have an acrimonious falling out over the Revolutionary War, with William remaining an unrepentant Loyalist. William’s birth mother is unknown, but the author pieced together rumors from the times and created one for this novel. We see Franklin through the eyes of his much beleaguered son, common-law wife, and mistress. Interestingly, William also had an illegitimate son (raised by Ben), and that son had an illegitimate daughter. Seems the Franklin men couldn’t keep their pants on.
Have not finished this, and I probably won’t. Uneven, disturbing, unpredictable – the subject matter could have been handled so much better.
An interesting, well-written book that makes one aware of how things were at that time in our country’s history. It was easy to empathize with most of the characters, although I found myself having mixed feelings about Benjamin Franklin.
As a lover of historical fiction, I am prepared to know that writer does use artistic license to create the characters’ innermost thoughts and feelings. However, this book was based on the many writings by and about Benjamin Franklin.
Good read and told me things I did not know about Franklin
I thought this book was great. I learned a great deal about
Ben Franklin and the story kept me turning the pages.
in much of the book he appeared as a secondary character. Though he became a loyalist his reasons were not given a thorough rendering. I had expected more of an analysis of the conflict ions that occurred between families in what was our first civil war.
If true, especially about how he treated other people, it would change my view of Ben Franklin. He is depicted as a self centered, egotistical jerk. He lives with a woman for her whole life without giving her the benefits and status of marriage, in a time when marriage was everything to an adult female. He would leave this country for YEARS, with promises to return in a year or two and leave her for a decade! He did give a respectable home to his child out of wedlock but then spent very little time with him. His inventions and discoveries we’re everything to him. He wanted to be everything, inventor, scientist, statesman etc but was better at them then he was a father and husband.
All around not someone I would have liked.
I enjoyed it very much
Learned so much about B.F. He was quite a brilliant man, also very complex. His weakness apparently was his lust for women. He was nevertheless a kind man and wanted to do right by his bastard son. I thoroughly enjoyed the author’s form of writing and portrayal of all the characters in this wonderful book and found that I couldn’t put it down because it was just so riveting.
The book has famous characters that I didn’t really know too much about. Historical fiction with tons of actual data. It was a good read.
Historical fiction at its best.
Good book, full of interesting happenings
Although this is fiction I found it interesting that Franklin actually had aa bastard son. The characters especially Benjamin, Deborah, Anne and William were so well described that you felt you knew them. It’s interesting to be reminded of the “ways of the world” back in the 1700’s.
says a lot about human nature