The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, The Complete Unabridged Audio Book on 7 standard audio cds ( playable in any cd player & fully digitally remastered ), the unfinished record of his own life written by Benjamin Franklin from 1771 to 1790, this work has become one of the most famous and influential examples of autobiography ever written.
Plot Summary
Franklin's account of his life is divided into four parts, reflecting the different periods at which he wrote them. There are actual breaks in the narrative between the first three parts, but Part Three's narrative continues into Part Four without an authorial break (only an editorial one).
Part One...
Part One of the Autobiography is addressed to Franklin's son William, at that time (1771) the Royal Governor of New Jersey. While in England at the estate of the Bishop of St Asaph in Twyford, Franklin begins by saying that it may be agreeable to his son to know some of the incidents of his father's life; so with a week's uninterrupted leisure, he is beginning to write them for William.
He starts with some anecdotes of his grandfather, uncles, and father and mother. He deals with his childhood, his fondness of reading, and his serving as an apprentice to his brother James, a Boston printer and the publisher of the New England Courant.
Part Two...
The second part begins with two letters Franklin received in the early 1780s while in Paris, encouraging him to continue the Autobiography, of which both correspondents have read Part One. (Although Franklin does not say so, there had been a breach with his son William after the writing of Part One, since the father had sided with the Revolutionaries and the son had remained loyal to the British Crown.)
At Passy, a suburb of Paris, Franklin begins Part Two in 1784, giving a more detailed account of his public library plan. He then discusses his 'bold and arduous Project of arriving at moral Perfection,' listing thirteen virtues he wishes to perfect in himself. He creates a book with columns for each day of the week, in which he marks with black spots his offenses against each virtue. Of these virtues, he notices that Order is the hardest for him to keep. He eventually realizes that perfection is not to be attained, but feels himself better and happier because of his attempt.
Part Three...
Begun in August 1788 when Franklin had returned to Philadelphia, the author says he will not be able to utilize his papers as much as he had expected, since many were lost in the recent Revolutionary War. He has, however, found and quotes a couple of his writings from the 1730's that survived. One is the 'Substance of an intended Creed' consisting of what he then considered as the 'Essentials' of all religions. He had intended this as a basis for a projected sect but, Franklin says, did not pursue the project.
Part Four...
Written sometime between November 1789 and Franklin's death on April 17, 1790, this section is very brief. After Franklin and his son arrive in London, the former is counselled by Dr. Fothergill on the best way to advocate his cause on behalf of the colonies. Franklin visits Lord Granville, president of the King's Privy Council, who asserts that the king is the legislator of the colonies.
Franklin then meets the proprietaries (the switch to the plural is Franklin's, so apparently others besides Thomas Penn are involved). But the respective sides are far from any kind of agreement. The proprietaries ask Franklin to write a summary of the colonists' complaints; when he does so, their solicitor for reasons of personal enmity delays a response.
Over a year later, the proprietaries finally respond to the assembly regarding the summary with a 'flimsy Justification of their Conduct.' The assembly during this delay has prevailed on the governor to pass a taxation act, and Franklin defends the act in English court so that it can receive royal assent. While the assembly thanks Franklin, the proprietaries, enraged at the governor, turn him out and threaten legal action against him; in the last sentence, Franklin tells us the governor 'despis'd the Threats, and they were never put in Execution.'
It is apparent that Franklin intended to cover more ground because there is an outline of the Autobiography written by him and copied by Henry ends with a reference to the Treaty of Paris, which Franklin helped negotiate, so the obvious inference is that Franklin's death prevented his proceeding further with the Autobiography. |
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