Revolution 250 Podcast

Benjamin Franklin's Hutchinson Letter Mystery with Jeremy Bell

April 11, 2023 Jeremy Bell Season 4 Episode 15
Revolution 250 Podcast
Benjamin Franklin's Hutchinson Letter Mystery with Jeremy Bell
Show Notes

The publication of Thomas Hutchinson's secret letters to London politicos outraged Massachusetts citizens, as Hutchinson advised the British establishment on how to suppress colonial dissent and insulted those who disagreed with British policy.  Ultimately, when it was learned that Benjamin Franklin had leaked the letters, Franklin's reputation was ruined in England, and he became an undisputed revolutionary.  But how did Franklin get the secret letters?  Jeremy Bell, author of three books on William Hogarth, joins us to unravel this 250-year old mystery, and tell us about Franklin as an associate of Sir Francis Dashwood and other members of the "Hell-Fire Club" one of many stories that Jeremy weaves in  "Ben Franklin's Sit-down Walking Tour of Boston," at the Bell in Hand.  He shares some of this, as well as other enduring questions, and tells us his own favorite dramatic portrayal of Franklin, was in "Sons of Liberty," with Dean Norris from "Breaking Bad" as "Bad Ass Ben."