Overview
“Three may keep a secret if two of ’em are dead.”
–Poor Richard’s Almanack[pg. 27 of mss]
R Taylor arrives in Philadelphia for the funeral of his longtime friend Dr. Wally Rush with a heavy heart. Not only has the world lost one of its preeminent, Pulitzer Prize—winning American Revolution historians, but R has lost his mentor, the man who led him to devote his life’s work to the study of “The First American,” Benjamin Franklin. The bond between them was sealed when R did Wally a favor that could never be revealed. But Wally saved one final secret for R, disclosed in a letter conveyed by the will’s executor.
Written in the slow, painful script of the professor’s last days, the note delivers an incredible bombshell. Wally, it seems, had stumbled upon twelve handwritten pages in a code commonly used by spies during the revolutionary war. The pages refer to George Washington, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison, and level a shocking charge–that Benjamin Franklin committed a heinous crime.
Wally, not wanting to foul the image of his lifelong hero, had kept this monumental secret until his death. But as R races to unravel the mystery, he faces an onslaught of obstacles. Vicious blackmail, a threat of sabotage against his own career, and grave personal doubts threaten to overtake R as he struggles with a discovery that has the potential to completely alter the fabric of American history.
Rich with revelations, rife with the darkest depths of deceit and mystery, and enlightened by the unparalleled insights of America’s first patriots, The Franklin Affair is a tense, constantly surprising novel about the ultimate quest for truth and justice.
Synopsis
“Three may keep a secret if two of ’em are dead.”
–Poor Richard’s Almanack[pg. 27 of mss]
R Taylor arrives in Philadelphia for the funeral of his longtime friend Dr. Wally Rush with a heavy heart. Not only has the world lost one of its preeminent, Pulitzer Prize—winning American Revolution historians, but R has lost his mentor, the man who led him to devote his life’s work to the study of “The First American,” Benjamin Franklin. The bond between them was sealed when R did Wally a favor that could never be revealed. But Wally saved one final secret for R, disclosed in a letter conveyed by the will’s executor.
Written in the slow, painful script of the professor’s last days, the note delivers an incredible bombshell. Wally, it seems, had stumbled upon twelve handwritten pages in a code commonly used by spies during the revolutionary war. The pages refer to George Washington, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison, and level a shocking charge–that Benjamin Franklin committed a heinous crime.
Wally, not wanting to foul the image of his lifelong hero, had kept this monumental secret until his death. But as R races to unravel the mystery, he faces an onslaught of obstacles. Vicious blackmail, a threat of sabotage against his own career, and grave personal doubts threaten to overtake R as he struggles with a discovery that has the potential to completely alter the fabric of American history.
Rich with revelations, rife with the darkest depths of deceit and mystery, and enlightened by the unparalleled insights of America’s first patriots, The Franklin Affair is atense, constantly surprising novel about the ultimate quest for truth and justice.
From the Hardcover edition.
Library Journal
Investigations into plagiarism form the basis of this lively and engaging story of professional historians and the fast-paced world of best-seller publishing and distinguished academic careers. Reginald Raymond Taylor, a Benjamin Franklin scholar known simply as R, is serving on a committee looking into charges that a colleague has not properly credited the sources she used to write a popular account of Ronald Reagan's presidency. She is taking the offensive, threatening to expose members of the committee for similar transgressions, no matter how minor. At the same time, the nation's leading Franklin scholar and R's longtime mentor has passed away, leaving R a confidential letter regarding recently discovered material that could severely damage the reputation of the real Ben Franklin and that he has entrusted to R to investigate. In addition, a publisher is beginning to question whether R played a larger role than just research assistant on the deceased scholar's Pulitzer Prize-winning book. Famed PBS newscaster Lehrer probes the border areas between intentional fraud, inadvertent borrowing, assisting in research, and actually writing text in the entertaining style of a mystery novel. Recommended for all libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 2/1/05.]-Jim Coan, SUNY Coll. at Oneonta Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.