Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
Preface
PART I. A NEW LIFE, AGE 24 TO 30 (1730-1736)
1. Personal and Business Life
2. The Art of Virtue
3. Freemason
4. The Library Company of Philadelphia
5. Man of Letters
6. Politics, Religion and the Rivalry with Bradford, 1732
7. Poor Richard's Prefaces, 1733-1747
8. Poor Richard's Proverbs
9. Franklin and Politics, 1730-1736
10. The Hemphill Controversy
11. Assessing Franklin as a Young Man, Age 24 to 30
PART II. EXPANDING PERSONAL INTERESTS, AGE 30 THROUGH 41 (1736-1747)
12. Personal Life
13. The Assembly Clerk and Pennsylvania Politics
14. Firefighter
15. Earning a Living: Printer, Publisher, Merchant, Bookseller and Postmaster
16. Concerned Citizen
17. George Whitefield and the Great Awakening
18. Natural Philosophy
19. Satires and Other Writings, 1736-1747
20. Assessing Franklin, Age 30 through 41
Appendices
1. New Attributions
2. Franklin's Organizations: Dates and Locations of Meetings, 1727-1747
3. Pennsylvania Assembly: Pay to Franklin
4. Sample Wages and Prices in Colonial Philadelphia
Sources, Documentation, Dates
Abbreviated References
Notes
Index
Acknowledgments

Promotional Information

Representing a lifetime of research, this seven-volume biography will give readers an unmatched resource for understanding Benjamin Franklin's character and place in American history. This second volume chronicles the years of Franklin's success in printing and publishing, including his interest in technology and science.

About the Author

J. A. Leo Lemay is H. F. du Pont Winterthur Professor of English at the University of Delaware. He has written extensively on early American literature and is the author of numerous books, including The American Dream of Captain John Smith.

Reviews

"A labor of love balanced by thoughtful criticism. There is nothing like it."--American Historical Review "This work, in the classic multivolume 'life and times' genre, is especially valuable. Highly recommended."--Choice "Veteran Franklin scholar Lemay offers a highly detailed examination of one of the most fascinating of America's founders."--Publishers Weekly "Lemay's final output will do for the popular interest in our revolution and early founding what Douglas Southall Freeman's magisterial Lee's Lieutenants did for our fixation on the Civil War... I can't wait for Mr. Lemay's next volumes."--Washington Times "The authoritative compendium of Franklin's remarkable exploits and contributions."--Times Higher Education Supplement "Lemay's magnificent opus manages to be accessible and interesting for the general reader while also valuable for the specialist... For readers who want to luxuriate in the life and times of a fascinating man and who enjoy seeing how an expert historian examines evidence and reaches conclusions, this biography is indispensable. Highly recommended."--Library Journal (starred review) "This colossal study ... does for Franklin what Dumas Malone did for Thomas Jefferson. In sheer comprehensiveness, it surpasses any previous (and, one imagines, future) treatment. When completed, it promises to provide just about as complete a factual account of Franklin's life as it is possible to put together."--Journal of American History