My Life with Benjamin Franklin
About this book
This delightful book is a collection of incidental pieces that reveal little-known aspects of the life and personality of Benjamin Franklin. Written by the doyenne of Franklin scholars, it conveys Franklin's humor, resiliency, courage, and intelligence, and his faith in a better future.
The selections are based on Claude-Anne Lopez's research in the treasure trove of nearly thirty thousand documents on Franklin assembled at Yale University. They include a detailed refutation of an anti-Semitic forgery attributed to Franklin and currently circulating on the Internet; three mini-detective stories showing Franklin on the fringes of the espionage world; discussions of Franklin's efforts to outfit Washington's army and to choose the first dinner set for the Foreign Service; and the tale of the misadventures of a French utopian scheme he sponsored. The only piece of fiction in the book is an imaginary party during which, on the first anniversary of his death, six illustrious Frenchmen discuss Franklin's influence on their country. Lopez has provided brief personal introductions to each of the pieces, giving her reasons for writing them and in the process threading the essays together.
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Information
Table of contents
- Contents
- A chronology of Franklin's Life and Curiosity
- Introduction: Benjamin Franklin Enters My life
- Part I: Some Facets of Franklin's Personality
- 1. Franklin, Hitler, Mussolini, and the Internet
- 2. The Only Founding Father in a Sports Hall of Fame
- 3. Three Women, Three Styles
- 4. Grand father, Fathers, And Sons
- Part II: Enigmas and Tricks
- 5. The Man Who Frightened Franklin
- 6. Franklin and the Unfortunate Divine
- 7. Franklin's Most Baffling Correspondent
- 8. Franklin and the Mystery Turk: The Morals of Chess
- 9. Franklin and Mesmer: A Confrontation
- Part III: His Country's Envoy
- 10. Outfitting One's Country for War: A Study in Frustration
- 11. Franklin's Choice of a Dinner Set
- 12. Franklin and the Nine Sisters
- 13. The Duchess, the Plenipotentiary, and the Golden Cap of Liberty
- 14. Franklin Plays Cupid
- 15. Was Franklin Too French?
- Part IV: Back at Home
- 16. Innocents on the Ohio: The American Utopia of Dr. Guillotin
- 17. Franklin and Slavery: A Sea Change
- Epilogue: Around the Table, They Remember Franklin
- Abbreviations
- Notes
- Index
