Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin was an American printer, scientist, diplomat and revolutionary statesman. He helped secure French support during the American Revolution, participated in peace negotiations and contributed to both the Declaration of Independence and Constitution.

In John Jakes’s The Bastard, Philip arrives during the imperial crisis that precedes the Revolution and becomes involved with printers, patriots and political organisers, including Benjamin Franklin and Paul Revere. In Jeff Shaara’s Rise to Rebellion, John Adams defends the soldiers accused in the killings, Benjamin Franklin attempts to preserve a workable imperial relationship in London, and Thomas Gage confronts resistance that his orders and troops repeatedly intensify. Other novels featuring Benjamin Franklin include Jeff Shaara’s The Glorious Cause and John Jakes’s The Rebels.

In non-fiction, Benjamin Franklin is discussed in Gore Vidal’s Inventing a Nation. In Gore Vidal’s Inventing a Nation, in this work of political history, Gore Vidal examines the revolutionary generation through George Washington, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, while also considering Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison.