![]() In 1776, the Continental Congress imprisoned William for treason. By then, William was Royal Governor of New Jersey, while Ben was one of the foremost champions of American independence. The outbreak of the American Revolution caused a devastating split between father and son. He was invited to walk in the procession of the coronation of George III Ben was not. On a diplomatic mission to London, it was William who charmed London society. 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. He adopted the boy, raised him, and educated him to be his aide. When he was twenty-four, Franklin fathered a child with a woman who was not his wife. ![]() ![]() In The Loyal Son, award-winning historian Daniel Mark Epstein throws the spotlight on one of the darker episodes in Franklin’s biography: his complex and confounding relationship with his illegitimate son William. But this image obscures the scandals that dogged him throughout his life. ![]() His wit, his charm, his inventiveness-even his grandfatherly appearance-are legendary. The dramatic story of a founding father, his illegitimate son, and the tragedy of their conflict during the American Revolution-from the acclaimed author of The Lincolnsīen Franklin is the most lovable of America’s founding fathers. ![]()
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