My Life with Benjamin Franklin [Hardcover]

Ms. Claude-Anne Lopez (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2000

This delighful 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 humour, 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 her essays together.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Lopez has steeped herself in scholarly appreciation of Benjamin Franklin, spending decades doing research and editing the Franklin papers at Yale. Her latest work comprises 18 essays, published mostly in erudite journals over the years. As would be expected when the subject is Benjamin Franklin, the essays range wonderfully far afield, reflecting the catholicity of Franklin's interests and his innumerable personal, scientific and political involvements. Concentrating on Franklin's years in France (1776-1785), Lopez tells of his absorption with chess and his proficiency in swimming, his brushes with spies, rogues and eccentrics, his avuncular relationships with American teenagers enduring a European education and his possibly more-than-avuncular flirtations with certain young ladies. We follow Franklin into the highest strata of French society, observe his immersion in scientific inquiry and trace his indefatigable efforts to obtain money and supplies for the Continental Army. Other essays address more daunting topics, such as the evolution of Franklin's moral views on slavery. The lead essay--which exposes an anti-Semitic "Prophecy" imputed to Franklin to be the fabrication of American Nazis in the 1930s--is especially interesting. Lopez's essays are elegant in construction, and her prose is polished. Each essay is prefaced by a useful explanation of how it came to be written and how its theme illustrates Franklin's character. Readers already knowledgeable about Franklin will appreciate the author's subtle insights into this extraordinary figure, and all will certainly enjoy these graceful exercises in the essay form. (Apr.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This book is a delightful, informal, but also authoritative potpourri of essays on various aspects of the professional and personal life of Benjamin Franklin. Most of the chapters are revisions of speeches or journal articles that Lopez has composed over the past four decades. The author is the reigning world expert on Franklin's personal life and has served since the mid-1950s as one of the editors of Yale's ongoing series The Papers of Benjamin Franklin. Lopez's previous books on Franklin include the classic Mon Cher Papa: Franklin and the Ladies of Paris. Introducing each piece in the current work with anecdotes from her own personal life, Lopez offers insightful and witty discussions of matters weighty and not so weighty. She refutes an anti-Semitic forgery that has egregiously been attributed to Franklin. Other topics she deals with include espionage, French involvement in American land speculation, supplies for George Washington's army, freemasonry, and slavery. This book should prove valuable and interesting for both specialists and general readers. Highly recommended for all public and academic libraries.
-T.J. Schaeper, St. Bonaventure Univ., New York
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (April 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300081928
• ISBN-13: 978-0300081923
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,691,129 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The personal side of an extraordinary man, February 2, 2001

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: My Life with Benjamin Franklin (Hardcover)

The group of men who wrote the constitution of the United States comprised the greatest collection of political geniuses the world has ever seen. With incredible insight into the weaknesses of human political structures, the checks and balances in the constitution provide a system of counterweights that make up a very stable government. While not generally considered among the leading tier of the founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin was present at the creation and made significant contributions.
In many ways he is also a model for the American ideal of the self-made man. He rose from poverty to become a writer, editor, publisher, inventor, scientist and diplomat. He charmed many of the leading figures of France so much that it entered the war of independence on the side of the colonies. Granted that there were many reasons for France to come to the aid of America in its war with Britain. However, it is quite possible that it would not have happened without the expert diplomacy of Franklin.
This book is the result of a search through his private correspondence. Therefore, it is a description of his personality as he communicates with friends, business and diplomatic colleagues; relatives and acquaintances. It appears that Franklin was quite a ladies man as well. There are hints that he had numerous affairs, although given the style of his letters, it is possible that his high degree of politeness could be mistaken for something deeper. The results depict a man very much of the world, one where life was slower and personal relationships were more significant.
It is unfortunate that political rivalries and geopolitical realities combined to lower his standing after the military victory that led to independence. Disputes arose with George Washington and John Adams that were no doubt political in origin. Franklin had both the domestic and international prestige to be considered presidential material, with only his advanced age as a hindrance.
The real problems were the geopolitical and geosocial realities. America was an offshoot of British culture, so once the severance was complete the natural affinity reasserted itself. Britain was also the supreme maritime power and America was a small nation consisting mostly of seacoast and the Canadian colony was on the northern border. Therefore, friendship with Britain was essential to the survival of the new nation. Franklin represented an alliance that was no longer critical, so as the political wind shifted, he found himself pushed aside. Until I read this book, I was unaware of the animosities that existed between Franklin and some of the other founders of the new nation.
Benjamin Franklin is the American model of the Renaissance man and his contributions to the success of the revolution are not to be underestimated. In reading the summaries of his personal correspondence, I found it clear that he is a person that you would have liked very much to converse with and would have considered yourself graced to have been his friend.