The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Book PDF Free Download
The Story of The Autobiography
The account of how Franklin’s Autobiography came to be written and of the adventures of the original manuscript forms in itself an interesting story.
The Autobiography is Franklin’s longest work, and yet it is only a fragment.
The first part, written as a letter to his son, William Franklin, was not intended for publication; and the composition is more informal and the narrative more personal than in the second part.
From 1730 on, which was written with a view to publication. The entire manuscript shows little evidence of revision.
In fact, the expression is so homely and natural that his grandson, William Temple Franklin, in editing the work changed some of the phrases because he thought them inelegant and vulgar.
Franklin began the story of his life while on a visit to his friend, Bishop Shipley, at Twyford, in Hampshire, southern England, in 1771.
He took the manuscript, completed in 1731, with him when he returned to Philadelphia in 1775.
It was left there with his other papers when he went to France in the following year and disappeared during the confusing incident to the Revolution.
Twenty-three pages of closely written manuscript fell into the hands of Abel James, an old friend, who sent a copy to Franklin at Passy, near Paris, urging him to complete the story.
Franklin took up the work at Passy in 1784 and carried the narrative forward a few months. He changed the plan to meet his new purpose of writing to benefit the young reader.
His work was soon interrupted and was not resumed until 1788 when he was at home in Philadelphia.
He was now old, infirm, and suffering, and was still engaged in public service. Under these discouraging conditions, the work progressed slowly.
It finally stopped when the narrative reached the year 1757. Copies of the manuscript were sent to friends of Franklin in England and France, among others to Monsieur Le Veillard at Paris.
| Author | E. Body Smith |
| Language | English |
| No. of Pages | 268 |
| PDF Size | 15.2 MB |
| Category | Biography |
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Book PDF Free Download