Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography (Norton Critical Editions)

by Franklin, Benjamin; Chaplin, Joyce E.

• ISBN13: 9780393935615
• ISBN10: 0393935612
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-01-17
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• More Book Details

Summary

Written during the most eventful years of Benjamin Franklin's life (1771'¬ ;90), the Autobiography is one of the most influential memoirs in history. This newly edited Norton Critical Edition includes an introduction that explains the history of the Autobiography within the larger history of the life-writing genre as well as within the history of celebrity. The text is accompanied by new and expanded explanatory annotations and by a map, an illustration, and six facsimiles. '¬SContexts'¬ presents a broader view of Franklin'¬"s life with a journal entry from a 1726 voyage, correspondence, a Poor Richard piece on ambition and fame, Franklin'¬"s views on self-improvement, and his last will (and codicil). '¬SCriticism'¬ draws on a wealth of material that reflects both the wide range of Franklin'¬"s achievements and the global impact of his life and memoirs. New international voices in '¬SContemporary Opinions'¬ include Immanuel Kant, Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, Comte de Mirabeau, José Antonio de Alzate y Ramírez, and José Francisco Correia da Serra. '¬SNineteenth-Century Opinions'¬ includes Humphry Davy on Franklin'¬"s discovery of electricity as well as Empress ShÅken of Japan'¬"s Franklin-inspired poem. Finally, '¬SModern Opinions'¬ reprints important pieces: I. B. Cohen on Franklin and the Autobiography's importance to science; Michael Warner'¬"s theoretical interpretation of the practices of writing and printing and what they tell us about Franklin; and Peter Stallybrass'¬"s insightful and engaging history-of-the-book perspective on Franklin'¬"s writing generally and the Autobiography specifically. A Chronology of Franklin'¬"s life, a Selected Bibliography, and an Index are also included.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Acknowledgments

Notes on the Text

Maps: Franklin's Boston, Philadelphia, and London

The Text of the Autobiography

The Autobiography

"A Quire Book of Letters"

The Outline of the Autobiography

A Guide to People Mentioned in the Autobiography

Contexts

Journal of a Voyage, 1726

Excerpts from Franklin's Letters Mentioning the Autobiography

"Authentic Memoir of Dr. Franklyn"

Excerpts From Franklin's Writings On Ambition And Fame, Wealth, And Self-Improvement

Ambition And Fame

From Poor Richard Improved, 1750

From Poor Richard Improved, Jan. 1758

To Sarah (Franklin) Bache, June 3, 1779

From Benjamin Vaughn, May 1785

From Jane Mecom, July 21, 1786

Wealth

To Cadwallader Colden, Sept. 29, 1748

To William Strahan, June 2, 1750

To Jane Mecom, Dec. 30, 1770

To Thomas Cushing, June 10, 1771

Benjamin Vaughn to Lord Shelburne, Nov. 24, 1782

To Robert Morris, Dec. 25, 1783

To Benjamin Vaughn, July 26, 1784

Last Will and Testament, 1788, and Codicil, 1789

Self-Improvement

Franklin's Epitaph, 1728

Franklin's Junto Query on Human Perfection, 1732

[Poor Richard on Self-Improvement, 1749]

Rules for Making Oneself a Disagreeable Companion, 1749

To Lord Kames, May 3, 1760

To Abiah Franklin, Apr. 12, 1750

To Joseph Priestley, Sept. 19, 1772

Criticism Contemporary Opinions

[The Modern Prometheus]

To Franklin, May 10, 1762

Franklin in the Cockpit

The Pennsylvania Gazette Report, 1774

Benjamin Vaughn's Account, 1779

To Count Patrick D'Arcy, Oct. 5, 1775

From the New-Jersey Gazette, Dec. 31, 1777

From Origins & Progress of the American Rebellion

To Franklin, May 1790

Eulogy for Franklin before the National Assembly of France, 1790

A Brief Eulogy for Benjamin Franklin, 1790

Eulogy for Franklin to the Royal Academy of Sciences, Lisbon, 1791

On Franklin, May 15, 1811

Nineteenth-Century Opinions

From the Edinburgh Review, 1806

From Literary Magazine, 1806

To George and Georgiana Keats, Oct. 14-31, 1818

Historical Sketch of Electrical Discovery

The Business Man

From Hunt's Autobiography

From Israel Potter

The Late Benjamin Franklin

[A Franklinian Poem], c. 1890

FromThe Dial, May 1887

From Editor's Study, Apr. 1888

From Editor's Study, July 1888

From Editor's Study, Jan. 1890

From Editor's Easy Chair, Oct. 1905

Recent Opinions

From The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism

Benjamin Franklin

[The Classic Books of America]

Franklin and Science

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin: The Puritan Experimenter in Life and Art

Franklin: The Representational Politics of the Man of Letters

Benjamin Franklin: Printed Collections and Erasable Writing

Benjamin Franklin: A Chronology

Selected Bibliography

Index

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