The Loyal Son: The War in Ben Franklin's House

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At the heart of Ben Franklin's life was his infamous relationship with his son William. Born when Franklin was only 24, the boy was adopted by his father, raised and educated to be his aide. William rose to be the Royal Governor of New Jersey a decade before the Revolution. Politics then pulled them apart, the famous patriot and the loyal Tory governor, and what had been a loving bond was destroyed forever. With the shrewdness and persistence of a master detective, Epstein reconstructs the loving but complicated relationship between Ben and William, shedding light on a little-known side of Benjamin's life, as well as on the motives that caused William to become a leader of violent counter-revolutionary guerillas. Story Locale- London and Philadelphia, mid to late 1700sAt the heart of Ben Franklin's life was his infamous relationship with his son William. Born when Franklin was only 24, the boy was adopted by his father, raised and educated to be his aide. William rose to be the Royal Governor of New Jersey a decade before the Revolution. Politics then pulled them apart, the famous patriot and the loyal Tory governor, and what had been a loving bond was destroyed forever. With the shrewdness and persistence of a master detective, Epstein reconstructs the loving but complicated relationship between Ben and William, shedding light on a little-known side of Benjamin's life, as well as on the motives that caused William to become a leader of violent counter-revolutionary guerillas. Story Locale- London and Philadelphia, mid to late 1700s
Daniel Mark Epsteinais the author of biographies of Abraham Lincoln and Walt Whitman, Aimee Semple McPherson, Nat King Cole, and Edna St. Vincent Millay, as well as seven volumes of poetry. His verse has appeared inaThe Atlantic, The New Yorker,aandaThe Paris Review,aamong other publications. The American Academy of Arts and Letters awarded Epstein the Rome Prize in 1977 and an Arts and Letters Award in 2006. Daniel Mark Epstein lives in Baltimore.