Foundling Fathers
by Meg Elison
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Pub Date 23 Jun 2026 | Archive Date 28 May 2026
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Description
What would a teenage Benjamin Franklin do with an iPhone after he discovers porn? From Philip K. Dick Award winning author Meg Elison comes this ingenious satire of U.S. history and modern technocracy gone terribly, terribly wrong.
“Relentlessly, brutally, scathingly, funny. I’d expect nothing less from the one and only Meg Elison.”
—Sarah Gailey, author of Spread Me
The trouble starts when a curious young man finds a smartphone in his privy. The problem is, it’s supposed to be the year 1750.
The Antediluvian Society—a shadowy cabal of right-wing billionaires—is fed up with a country they cannot fully control or understand. So they have done what any reasonable American patriots would do: Clone the Founding Fathers and raise them in secrecy. The plan, unbeknownst to the boys, is for them to restore America to its “original glory.”
Ben takes his technological discovery to his brothers, Thomas, John, and George. The boys have been raised on an isolated island plantation by Mary Libertas, a firm but kind woman, and Jeff Hancock, their de facto father. But the idyllic life is far too dull for young men. The boys have been chafing at the restrictions upon them (especially Tom, who has impregnated yet another of the servants). Hancock is complaining to the Society that it’s well past the time to tell the boys where they come from and what they must do.
Unfortunately for their keepers, the young men now have a phone…and many other notions.
Seamlessly combining science fiction and history with sharp, witty commentary, Meg Elison has once again shown why she is one of speculative fiction’s most exciting voices.
A Note From the Publisher
Advance Praise
Den of Geek Most Anticipated Books of 2026
“Foundling Fathers is an American revelation. Meg Elison is a singular, incisive wit (at least until they clone her).”
—Charlie Jane Anders, author of Lessons in Magic and Disaster
“This is exactly the kind of preposterous shit I would expect if cloning became more widely available which is both sad and hilarious. This book absolutely hooked me in about two pages.”
—Powder & Page
“In this zany sci-fi satire from Elison (Number One Fan), readers meet four teens—Ben, Tom, George, and John—raised in isolation on an island off the coast of Virginia in what they believe to be 1750. Schooled in Ptolemy, Christian morality, manners, and marksmanship, these “brothers” are being groomed to be statesmen. Only their “mother”—whose real name is Dr. Mary Himmel—knows the year is really 2026 and that the boys, clones of the founding fathers, exist as part of a cockamamie plan funded by the Antediluvian Society to restore America to greatness. Once the boys come of age, they’ll be introduced to the mainland. This scheme hits a few snags, first in Tom’s affairs with two of the servants, then when Ben discovers Mother’s phone in the bathroom, leading the boys to question their origins. As the Antediluvians initiate the Saratoga Protocol, a supposedly foolproof plan to transition the foursome to the real world, the teens prove to have minds of their own. Elison has a lot of fun with historicity and her characters are all finely wrought, especially Himmel, whose care for the boys as their surrogate mother butts up against her involvement in the Antediluvian cause. It’s a clever mash-up of American history and modern politics that will have readers both laughing and squirming.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Relentlessly, brutally, scathingly, funny. I’d expect nothing less from the one and only Meg Elison.”
—Sarah Gailey, author of Spread Me
“Audaciously funny and painfully accurate (not something I ever thought I’d say about cloning the leaders of the American Revolution).”
—Samantha Mills, multiple award-winning author of The Wings Upon Her Back
“This sharp and insightful work of speculative satire pokes holes in the formative myths of the United States via a world in which human cloning is used to rebirth the Founding Fathers.”
—Shelf Awareness
“A satirical tale of arrogant billionaires so preoccupied with their attempt to re-create a mythical something (or in this case someones) they didn’t stop to consider if they should.”
—Stina Leicht, author of Persephone Station
“Elison has a brilliant and timely premise that she weaves into a compelling tale that both unravels the founding mythology of the United States but somehow also gives me hope.”
—Auston Habershaw, author of If Wishes Were Retail
“I am in awe of Meg Elison’s gifts. In there with the political satire and the pitch-perfect 18th-century diction is a moving story of found family and four ‘brothers’ whose quirky brilliance does not get in the way of their being engagingly human.”
—Ellen Kushner, author of Swordspoint
“Foundling Fathers is deftly hilarious. You will be tempted to read page after page, chapter after chapter. Do not resist!”
—Eileen Gunn, author of Stable Strategies and Others
“Meg Elison has produced a sly meditation on greatness, American politics, and the very notion of national hagiography.”
—David Liss, author of The Peculiarities
“The perfect read for the United States’ 250th anniversary. Hilarious, curious, and furious, it gives this country’s toxic nostalgia the wedgie it deserves.”
—John Wiswell, author of Someone You Can Build a Nest In
“It’s funny, it’s sad, it’s edged, and like all Eilison’s work, it makes me believe that its world continues to run along without me after I finish reading.”
—Alex Jennings, author of The Ballad of Perilous Graves
Marketing Plan
Promotion at major trade and genre conventions, including the World Science Fiction convention and the World Fantasy Convention
Author book launch event, tour, readings, and signings in NYC and national
Features, interviews, and reviews targeting literary and genre venues, including the Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, NPR Books, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, and San Francisco Chronicle
Planned galley distribution and book giveaways to include NetGalley, Goodreads, Reactor, and SF Signal
Advertising and promotion in national print, online outlets, and social media
Available Editions
| EDITION | Paperback |
| ISBN | 9781616964580 |
| PRICE | $16.95 (USD) |
| PAGES | 192 |
Available on NetGalley
Average rating from 59 members
Featured Reviews
Shelby H, Reviewer
The characters were complex and deeply human, and the narrative was both compelling and thought-provoking. A must-read that will stick with you long after the final page!
Hannah K, Reviewer
This is a fantastic, witty little novella that takes some arch conservative's ultimate wet dream (what if we could make little clones of the Founding Fathers and raise them according to the ideals of the original 1776 conditions, but make sure that they side with us, the modern day tech bro Republican party) and turns it into a perfect punk rebellion. Also, gives us the nightmares of a Thomas Jefferson being unleashed on dating apps. Ye gods and little fishes. Watching the boys unravel their situation and start to poke at the edges of their reality is fascinating, and there are a few moments where you will have to pause because you're laughing so hard at what has just been uttered by characters. Has a real "fuck you, I won't do what you tell me" vibe to it, and I'm looking forward to seeing how this hits when it lands next summer. This novella was one of my last and best reads of 2025.
Lisa M, Reviewer
Foundling Fathers was a fun, smart, fast-paced novella set in the 1750s (or was it?), centering on (potentially) some of our country’s founding fathers in their young adulthood. You know a novella is good when you rip through it and you finish it wanting more. I will be delicate around spoilers, but the characters were charming and cleverly written, and true to my historical knowledge of them, and watching them in these settings was like unwrapping a gift. I highly recommend picking up this fun and thought-provoking work! 4.5 stars.
Grigory L, Reviewer
Foundling Fathers starts with an outlandish yet simple premise: after billionaires clone and isolate four Founding Fathers, the teenaged Benjamin Franklin discovers an iPhone and uses it to find porn.
The rest of this short, fun book follows quite logically from that inciting incident, and I won't spoil any of it for you. Suffice to say that it's clever, funny, beautifully written, and unlike anything else out there. (I say this as a sci-fi author with a degree in political science!)
I got this novel's ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.
Aurora d, Reviewer
This novella explores a fascinating question, what if cloning technology allowed us to bring back historical figures like the founding fathers? And it pairs that with the reality of modern times and how things would most likely go down, which is to say terribly and problematic. Right wing billionaires trying to bring back the founding fathers for their own usage is a very fitting occurrence, and this book feels realistic despite being science fiction.
This novella follows four young men, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams. They are being raised on an island as though it is 1750, despite it actually being 2026. However, they are starting to realize that it may not in fact be 1750. A large clue to this is the phone that Franklin finds left behind in the bathroom, giving the wonderful opening line: “It took Benjamin Franklin twenty-seven minutes and fourteen seconds to discover there was pornography on the internet”. If that doesn’t hook you in, I don’t know what will!
The story is told in a way that feels authentic to teenage boys as well as them being raised in a historical fashion. The overall tone and wording is distinctive as being older English in a way that ensures the reader is kept in the story, but not in a way that is overly difficult to understand and thus distracting. I really appreciated how the historical elements were shown and the reactions of the boys to various modern technologies from their outdated lens was highly entertaining. However they are still teenage boys having teenage boy thoughts, adding to the commentary that just because they are clones does not mean they will serve the role being hoped for them
Ultimately, the boys are discovering that the world they have been raised in is not how the rest of the world is and there are expectations set upon their existence due to who they are supposed to be. This story is an excellent satire on billionaires trying anything to hold power and restore the world to what they assume would be the ideal.
Owing to the novella format, this book is quite short and I feel like a lot of elements of the plot could have been further explored, however the overall message of the story is perfectly conveyed. I would have loved to know more about various things that occur, but this book did not leave me needing more because it wrapped up everything quite well. I loved how quick this was to read and I finished it easily as an evening read!
I really enjoyed this book, it was a fun science fiction/speculative fiction read with a heavy dose of satire in the best way! I would recommend this book to fans of what if questions, and humor regarding American history. However, as a self proclaimed hater of history classes throughout my life (because I’m bad at them), this was a wonderful read that did not bring out my hatred. This book is out June 23, 2026!
Thank you to Netgalley, Tachyon Publishing, and Meg Elison for the opportunity to read an eARC of this book!
Kimberly J, Reviewer
This is a wonderful satire that is so topical. The initial premise is absurd and intriguing, and I felt the excecution was well done. I feel like people would enjoy this regardless of how much they know about the founding fathers. It is an interesting way to explore our concept of who the founding fathers were. It also skewers billionaires and how plutocrats influence politics in this country. I also love the cover.
Harrison S, Reviewer
Foundling Fathers by Meg Elison
I read The Pill by Meg Elison when it was nominated for the Hugo Award a while back - it was one of the best stories I have read in years and it still haunts me to this day. I read her novel Number One Fan a few years ago, but it was too rapey and unrealistic for me to fully enjoy. But when I saw her new book by Ms. Elison on NetGalley, I eagerly requested an eARC in exchange for an honest review because of the description - Foundling Fathers sounded like a spiritual sequel to Clone High, a delightfully weird cartoon that I loved many years ago.
In this book, we quickly learn that Franklin, Jefferson, Adams, and Washington were cloned somehow in a near future and raised as brothers on an isolated island and were taught that it was still the 1700s. The plot kicks off when Franklin finds someone’s cell phone in the bathroom.
I really enjoyed this book, but my only complaints felt like it was too short - it felt like it could’ve been the first third of a much longer book, and I felt the ending was too abrupt. But I really enjoyed the style and the characterization. A fun read for our bisesquicentennial!
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