The Glorious Conspiracy Author:Joanne S. Williamson Youth historical fiction, set during the Federalist Era and Industrial Revolution in the US. Paints a vivid picture of life in a Manchester mill in the early 1800s, of the struggle for bread among children -- in the streets of Liverpool, of the treacherous crossing to the New World and of the beginnings of democracy, as the Federalists and... more » Democrats fight for power in New York City.
It is ostensibly a reflective portrait of a boy who rises from the worst possible conditions of poverty to become a spy in the "glorious conspiracy" which exposed Hamilton's treachery in tampering with free elections and insured Jefferson's ascent to the Presidency. Before he is rescued by the generous exile, Jean-Pierre, Ben Brown wandered the countryside in search of food, in fear of deportation, desperate and alone. Slowly Jean-Pierre helps Ben recover his long buried knowledge of the written word and finds him a job as a printer's helper. Thus he is thrown into the struggle between Federalists and Democrats and finds friends among both groups. « less