Poor Richard in France Author:F. N. Monjo The year is 1776. Young Benny has left Philadelphia and is sailing with his grandfather to see King Louis XVI of France. Benny's grandfather is an unusual man - he takes air baths, he is the inventor of a lightning rod, and he has written a book for farmers called "Poor Richard's Almanak." Then in Paris the boy discovers that the French know of ... more »his grandfather and cheer the old man everywhere he goes. An though Ben Franklin dresses as plainly as a Quaker, he is the toast of fashionable Parisian society, and is extremely popular with the French ladies as well. It takes a long time, but eventually the king agrees to everything the ambassador from America wants, and sends armies of soldiers and fleets of ships to General Washington, plus a battleship for Captain John Paul Jones. It is an exciting and happy time for Benny and an unparalleled moment in American History.« less