Synopses & Reviews
“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
The Franklin Affair dramatizes the publishing world and echoes its recent scandals while telling the story of a young historian whose orderly existence is suddenly beset with a series of crises both personal and professional. His life is about to come crashing down around him, including the sabotaging of his own career. His longtime mentor, a Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer of Benjamin Franklin, has just died, and left him with a secret he alone knows and must deal with. He is bequeathed a letter from the Revolutionary War in code, which seems to indicate that Benjamin Franklin was confronted by the Founding Fathers--Washington, Hamilton, Adams, and Madison--on a charge that threatens to alter the fabric of American history. He's also on a special committee of historians dealing with charges of plagiarism against an aggressive female biographer--who in turn is trying to blackmail each of them for their silence. Rich with revelations, rife with the darkest depths of deceit and mystery, and enlightened by the unparalleled insights of America's first patriot, The Franklin Affair reveals Jim Lehrer at his best.
About the Author
This is JIM LEHRER’s fifteenth novel. He is also the author of two memoirs and three plays and is the executive editor and anchor of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on PBS. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his novelist wife, Kate. They have three daughters.