Table of Contents

Chronology 1. A Tradesman in the Age of Reason 2. A City upon a Hill 3. Journeyman Printer 4. We, the Middling People 5. The Old England Man 6. The Prime Mover 7. Two Views of Empire 8. One Community with one Interest 9. The Ungrateful Incendiary 10. Bonhomme Richard 11. Plenipotentiary for the Congress 12. Patriarch of Free Men 13. Father of All the Yankees? Notes Selected Bibliography Index

Promotional Information

Esmond Wright's Franklin of Philadelphia is a distinguished biography, well-conceived, beautifully written, and always interesting. Its research is deep and its conclusions fresh and original. -- Robert Middlekauff

About the Author

Esmond Wright is Professor of History, Emeritus, University of London.

Reviews

Esmond Wright has written the best full-length biography of Franklin since Carl Van Doren’s of nearly fifty years ago; it may in fact be the best yet written. It is certainly the most historical, the one that best sets the man in the circumstances of his time.
*Times Literary Supplement*

The first full-scale life in fifty years, Franklin of Philadelphia is attractively written and penetrating in its judgments. It is also well-proportioned—no small consideration, when you reflect on the range and variety of the material with which Mr. Wright had to deal.
*New York Times Book Review*

Distinguished, magisterial… Franklin of Philadelphia is an elegantly written, rigorously researched and highly credible biography; the fruits of Wright’s extensive study are evident on every page.
*San Francisco Examiner*

A rounded portrait of all the facets of this extremely versatile and talented man… Anyone wishing to penetrate behind the bifocals, into the urbane mind of the first and greatest of the Yankee scientists, cannot do better than to sample this feast of a biography.
*Nature*

An account that, offering balanced judgment and genuine, if critical, admiration, demands immediate admission into the front rank of Franklin literature.
*Times Higher Education Supplement*

In many ways…the best biography of Benjamin Franklin ever. It is beautifully written and full of fascinating comments about personalities and political events… The book is a delight.
*William & Mary Quarterly*

Rich and satisfying… The book unfolds with an efficient sweep, as Wright organizes details into larger patterns. His style is graceful, his language precise.
*Wilson Quarterly*

Esmond Wright’s Franklin of Philadelphia is a distinguished biography, well-conceived, beautifully written, and always interesting. Its research is deep and its conclusions fresh and original.
*Robert Middlekauff*

Esmond Wright has written the best full-length biography of Franklin since Carl Van Doren's of nearly fifty years ago; it may in fact be the best yet written. It is certainly the most historical, the one that best sets the man in the circumstances of his time. -- Gordon S. Wood * Times Literary Supplement *
The first full-scale life in fifty years, Franklin of Philadelphia is attractively written and penetrating in its judgments. It is also well-proportioned-no small consideration, when you reflect on the range and variety of the material with which Mr. Wright had to deal. -- John Gross * New York Times Book Review *
Distinguished, magisterial... Franklin of Philadelphia is an elegantly written, rigorously researched and highly credible biography; the fruits of Wright's extensive study are evident on every page. -- Christopher Rauber * San Francisco Examiner *
A rounded portrait of all the facets of this extremely versatile and talented man... Anyone wishing to penetrate behind the bifocals, into the urbane mind of the first and greatest of the Yankee scientists, cannot do better than to sample this feast of a biography. -- Roy Porter * Nature *
An account that, offering balanced judgment and genuine, if critical, admiration, demands immediate admission into the front rank of Franklin literature. -- Peter Marshall * Times Higher Education Supplement *
In many ways...the best biography of Benjamin Franklin ever. It is beautifully written and full of fascinating comments about personalities and political events... The book is a delight. * William & Mary Quarterly *
Rich and satisfying... The book unfolds with an efficient sweep, as Wright organizes details into larger patterns. His style is graceful, his language precise. -- Elizabeth Johns * Wilson Quarterly *
Esmond Wright's Franklin of Philadelphia is a distinguished biography, well-conceived, beautifully written, and always interesting. Its research is deep and its conclusions fresh and original. -- Robert Middlekauff

This important biography, by a distinguished British scholar, is the first full treatment of Franklin's life since Carl Van Doren's (1938). Wright presents a wholly human and understandable Franklin, concentrating on the evolution of his political thought and actions (e.g., as a ``reluctant rebel''), and detailing his contributions as the ``true architect'' of America's alliance with France (1778) and the ``major engineer'' of the peace settlement with Britain (1783). Wright is quite effective in placing Franklin in the context of his times and reconciling the public and private Franklin for modern readers. Enlivened by judicious quotations and fine illustrations, this biography deserves wide public and scholarly attention. Highly recommended for public and academic libraries. Roy H. Try on, Delaware State Archives, Dover