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The Resource The loyal son : the war in Ben Franklin's house, Daniel Mark Epstein

The loyal son : the war in Ben Franklin's house, Daniel Mark Epstein

Creator
Author
Summary
Ben Franklin is the most lovable of America's founding fathers. His wit, his charm, his inventiveness--even his grandfatherly appearance--are legendary. But this image obscures the scandals that dogged him throughout his life. In The Loyal Son, award-winning historian Daniel Mark Epstein throws the spotlight on one of the more enigmatic aspects of Franklin's biography: his complex and confounding relationship with his illegitimate son William. When he was twenty-four, Franklin fathered a child with a woman who was not his wife. He adopted the boy, raised him, and educated him to be his aide. Ben and William became inseparable. After the famous kite-in-a-thunderstorm experiment, it was William who proved that the electrical charge in a lightning bolt travels from the ground up, not from the clouds down. On a diplomatic mission to London, it was William who charmed London society. He was invited to walk in the procession of the coronation of George III; Ben was not. The outbreak of the American Revolution caused a devastating split between father and son. By then, William was royal governor of New Jersey, while Ben was one of the foremost champions of American independence. In 1776, the Continental Congress imprisoned William for treason. George Washington made efforts to win William's release, while his father, to the world's astonishment, appeared to have abandoned him to his fate. A fresh take on the combustible politics of the age of independence, The Loyal Son is a gripping account of how the agony of the American Revolution devastated one of America's most distinguished families. Like Nathaniel Philbrick and David McCullough, Epstein is a storyteller first and foremost, a historian who weaves together fascinating incidents discovered in long-neglected documents to draw us into the private world of the men and women who made America
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Edition
First edition.
Extent
xx, 438 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates
Contents
  • Preface: a night journey, 1731
  • Part I. Sons of the empire
  • Americans in London: September 22, 1761
  • Colonial contemporaries, 1753
  • Defenses and engagements
  • Challenges, 1757
  • Triumphs
  • Part II. America and her children
  • America, 1763
  • A frenzy or madness
  • Blood and money
  • Rebellion, 1772-73
  • A thorough government man
  • Two roads
  • Part III. War
  • Trevose, 1775
  • The last word
  • The reckoning, 1776
  • Paterfamilias
  • The dark night of the soul
  • Part IV. Danse macabre
  • The scene of action, 1778-81
  • Captain Huddy and the dance of death
  • Going home
  • Epilogue, 1785-1823
Isbn
9780345544216
Instance
Label
The loyal son : the war in Ben Franklin's house
Title
The loyal son
Title remainder
the war in Ben Franklin's house
Statement of responsibility
Daniel Mark Epstein
Creator
Author
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
Ben Franklin is the most lovable of America's founding fathers. His wit, his charm, his inventiveness--even his grandfatherly appearance--are legendary. But this image obscures the scandals that dogged him throughout his life. In The Loyal Son, award-winning historian Daniel Mark Epstein throws the spotlight on one of the more enigmatic aspects of Franklin's biography: his complex and confounding relationship with his illegitimate son William. When he was twenty-four, Franklin fathered a child with a woman who was not his wife. He adopted the boy, raised him, and educated him to be his aide. Ben and William became inseparable. After the famous kite-in-a-thunderstorm experiment, it was William who proved that the electrical charge in a lightning bolt travels from the ground up, not from the clouds down. On a diplomatic mission to London, it was William who charmed London society. He was invited to walk in the procession of the coronation of George III; Ben was not. The outbreak of the American Revolution caused a devastating split between father and son. By then, William was royal governor of New Jersey, while Ben was one of the foremost champions of American independence. In 1776, the Continental Congress imprisoned William for treason. George Washington made efforts to win William's release, while his father, to the world's astonishment, appeared to have abandoned him to his fate. A fresh take on the combustible politics of the age of independence, The Loyal Son is a gripping account of how the agony of the American Revolution devastated one of America's most distinguished families. Like Nathaniel Philbrick and David McCullough, Epstein is a storyteller first and foremost, a historian who weaves together fascinating incidents discovered in long-neglected documents to draw us into the private world of the men and women who made America
Biography type
collective biography
Cataloging source
DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Epstein, Daniel Mark
Dewey number
  • 973.3092
  • B
Illustrations
  • illustrations
  • maps
  • plates
Index
index present
LC call number
E302.6.F8
LC item number
E59 2017
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Franklin, Benjamin
  • Franklin, William
  • Franklin, Benjamin
  • Franklin, William
  • Statesmen
  • Governors
  • American loyalists
  • Statesmen's children
  • United States
  • American loyalists
  • Governors
  • Politics and government
  • Statesmen
  • Statesmen's children
  • New Jersey
  • United States
Label
The loyal son : the war in Ben Franklin's house, Daniel Mark Epstein
Instantiates
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Preface: a night journey, 1731 -- Part I. Sons of the empire -- Americans in London: September 22, 1761 -- Colonial contemporaries, 1753 -- Defenses and engagements -- Challenges, 1757 -- Triumphs -- Part II. America and her children -- America, 1763 -- A frenzy or madness -- Blood and money -- Rebellion, 1772-73 -- A thorough government man -- Two roads -- Part III. War -- Trevose, 1775 -- The last word -- The reckoning, 1776 -- Paterfamilias -- The dark night of the soul -- Part IV. Danse macabre -- The scene of action, 1778-81 -- Captain Huddy and the dance of death -- Going home -- Epilogue, 1785-1823
Control code
ocn958413466
Dimensions
25 cm
Edition
First edition.
Extent
xx, 438 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates
Isbn
9780345544216
Lccn
2017013553
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations, maps
System control number
  • (Sirsi) 1706004
  • (OCoLC)958413466
Label
The loyal son : the war in Ben Franklin's house, Daniel Mark Epstein
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Preface: a night journey, 1731 -- Part I. Sons of the empire -- Americans in London: September 22, 1761 -- Colonial contemporaries, 1753 -- Defenses and engagements -- Challenges, 1757 -- Triumphs -- Part II. America and her children -- America, 1763 -- A frenzy or madness -- Blood and money -- Rebellion, 1772-73 -- A thorough government man -- Two roads -- Part III. War -- Trevose, 1775 -- The last word -- The reckoning, 1776 -- Paterfamilias -- The dark night of the soul -- Part IV. Danse macabre -- The scene of action, 1778-81 -- Captain Huddy and the dance of death -- Going home -- Epilogue, 1785-1823
Control code
ocn958413466
Dimensions
25 cm
Edition
First edition.
Extent
xx, 438 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates
Isbn
9780345544216
Lccn
2017013553
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations, maps
System control number
  • (Sirsi) 1706004
  • (OCoLC)958413466

Subject

Genre

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