Abigail Holt

Abigail Holt was the pseudonym of the girlfriend of Benjamin Franklin in 1762, whilst he was staying in London. However, as Franklin had a wife in America, he was wary about their relationship being public.

Holt was also married but felt frustrated with her husband, so she lived a second life in disguise under the name Abigail Holt. Franklin was attracted to her love of science and politics, about which they engaged in discussions at the local coffee house. A friend of the Penn family, with whom Franklin was involved in a legal dispute, Holt's relationship was discovered, resulting in the Penns blackmailing her to spy on Franklin, or risk her affair being revealed to her husband. Franklin supplied her with false information to relay to the Penns.

Holt was an aristocrat and relative of King George III. (AUDIO: The Founding Fathers)