Benjamin Franklin's personal account of his rise from a candlemaker's son to Founding Father offers an intimate look at 18th-century American life and the formation of a new nation. Written in his later years, this foundational work of American autobiography reveals Franklin's philosophy of self-improvement, his scientific discoveries, and his diplomatic efforts during the Revolutionary War era.
Twyford, at the Bishop of St. Asaph's, 1771. Dear Son: I have ever had pleasure in obtaining any little anecdotes of my ancestors. You may remember the inquiries I made among the remains of my relations when you were with me in England, and the journey I undertook for that purpose. Imagining it may be equally agreeable to you to know the circumstances of my life, many of which you are yet unacquainted with, and expecting the enjoyment of a week's uninterrupted leisure in my present country retirement, I sit down to write them for you. To which I have besides some other inducements. Having emerged from the poverty and obscurity in which I was born and bred, to a state of affluence and some degree of reputation in the world, and having gone so far through life with a considerable share of felicity, the conducing means I made use of, which with the blessing of God so well succeeded, my po…Continue reading →
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