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My favorite writing style is historical fiction. Since John Jakes had such a large collection of Americana Books he had written, and I enjoyed his novels so much, I set out ambitiously to read everything I could get my hands on. The first series that i read was the Kent Family Saga and it turned out to be my favorite. I read all eight volumes in the series starting with the "Bastard".
Philippe Charbonneau, born with his mother's maiden name, later took his father's name and Americanized it to Philip Kent when he was newly in America. He had grown up in France. His actress mother, Marie, had had an affair with a British nobleman and Philip grew up not knowing the truth. He was reared in a rather poor state in his mom's french country Inn. Marie had wished that her son would one day be re-united with his rich dad in England. The Duke had sent some support over the years but the father and son had never met.
Once the truth came out as he entered adulthood, the mother and son were off to merry old England. Thought the duke was not at home when they arrived, they met his half brother and stepmother. Neither of them hit it off. The unfriendly sibling and his mean stepmother weren't having any part of another share in the inheritance. The two brothers fought. The Duke was unaware of Philip and his mother being chased off. Philip's brother's wife, however, had an interest in Philip and soon a secret affair commenced as Philip stayed in the area for a while, hoping for a piece of the estate.
Eventually, they were chased out of the country by the brother, stepmother and their employees. Marie was heartbroken since her dream was now over. Philip wanted to seek his fortune in the new land and hoped to do it in the printing business. His distraught mother died on the way to the new world and she was buried at sea. Philip lost what little money he had left and arrived in America alone and penniless.
Philip found that Boston and the colonies were ripe for revolt when he arrived. They were in protest to the mother country against unfair taxes levied on the colonies. He falls under the spell of influential men such as Sam Adams, Ben Franklin, Paul Revere and the other pre-revolutionary figures. Also involved in the early dissent, was the lawyer father of his first love, Anne. They started the Kent family lineage and when she died, he had more children with Peggy. Philip met his brother again in America, now an officer with the British Army, as well as his widow, after Philip fought him a second time. She tried to restart the romance with him to no avail.
It is action packed and continues until the second novel "The Rebel". In the 2nd novel, he will take part in the American revolution. He just happens to bump into Lafayette who he had known during his French boyhood.
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