THE FOUNDERS

In Tenney’s satirical novel, scientists use time travel to bring Thomas Jefferson and George Washington to the present during a constitutional crisis.

In the year 2022, the United States has fallen under the leadership of the despotic President Ryan Bribe (“I’m the fucking President of the United States and they’ll do what I want! If not, they will pay!”), who lies and cheats and blackmails his way into power. Concerned for the future of their country, the descendants of Benjamin Franklin—twin sisters and scientists Summer and Spring Franklin—develop a quantum teleportation device that allows them to bring figures from the past into the present. Their plan is to corral Jefferson and Washington to help them find a “Secret Amendment” that they believe was drafted by Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin as a stopgap to depose presidents who aspire to be kings. When Jefferson and Washington wake up in the present-day museums that were once their homes at Mt. Vernon and Monticello, however, hijinks ensue. Jefferson accidentally steals some important artifacts (though they all technically belong to him) from the museum, including a priceless necklace, making him a fugitive from the law. Washington, donned in his period’s attire, is mistaken for an actor at Mt. Vernon before he trips an alarm and rows up the Potomac to his namesake capital city, where he and Jefferson eventually (and randomly) unite; the Franklin sisters scramble to get the former presidents to cooperate with their plan. Tenney’s novel is fast-paced and cleanly written, but its satiric edge is dulled a bit by some too-obvious references (Bribe uses the same nicknames for his political opponents as Trump does) and surface-level politics. The Franklin sisters have no qualms about working with a tech billionaire, and the answer to everyone’s problems is to run a political moderate; this is not exactly biting commentary. It’s cute imagining Jefferson scarfing down McDonald’s and staying at a homeless shelter, but the fish-out-of-water concept doesn’t really take readers anywhere new.

An entertaining romp, but not particularly insightful or nuanced.