The Private Franklin: The Man and His Family

by Claude-Anne Lopez

“At last, the story of Ben Franklin in human dimensions set against the dazzling backdrop of the Age of Enlightenment. This is great history, great biography and, above all, a wonderfully entertaining book.” ― David Schoenbrun This book has been written primarily from original sources, published and unpublished, and in particular from the surviving letters that passed between Franklin and his family and friends―only a fraction, alas, of the total written―and including a good many not likely to be printed anywhere else ( for even the monumental edition of the Franklin Papers at Yale has to be limited to letters by or to Franklin in person ). It is not intended as a general biography of Franklin: Claude-Anne Lopez and Eugenia W. Herbert have filled in the background of his life only to the extent that it seemed necessary to their theme, and they have tried to see his many activities first and foremost from the vantage point of his family. At the same time they have endeavored to keep the cast of characters down, excluding many worthy relatives, friends, and enemies, out of consideration for the non-specialist reader, preferring to offer a sample rather than a multitude.

Genres: Biography, History

361 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1975

Reviews

[Jessica DeWitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a history grad student the social-turn in history during the 1970s is drilled into our minds in our historiography courses, however, rarely are we ever called to read one of these early woman's, minority, etc. histories. Thus, I found it kind of fun to finally sit down and read one of these works. The Private Franklin, as the title suggests, follows the life of Benjamin Franklin by way of his personal relationships with his family, friends, and enemies. I found this book to be quite easy-to-read and entertaining. The approach is refreshing. The portraiture of Franklin, while perhaps not surprising, is at times disheartening. The most powerful moment in the book to me is the end of the chapter "Your a Feck Shonet Wife," which chronicles his long-neglected wife's death. Lopez and Herbert end the chapter powerfully... "The lady, in his memory, was smiling and pleased." (173) Lopez and Herbert also strike down the claims of Franklin's womanizing, which they say there is no evidence for. My only tip for anyone reading this book is to brush up on your basic knowledge of Franklin's professional and political life because it can be a bit confusing to keep track of the backdrop of Franklin's actions in front of which his personal activities are occurring.

[Marilyn Pronovost · Rating 3 out of 5]

This follows Franklin and his relation to those around him, especially his family during his life. While Franklin always had a family around him, he was never with the same family all his life. He and Debby marry and are happy, but when he's off to England, he finds a family with the Stevensons and again in Paris he finds many families to be with. In his old age he come full circle with his daughter Sarah's family. When he is with his present family, he seems to shed his other family inPA.

He has a tortured relationship with his son during the Revolution and never forgives his son for having a different idea of duty than his. He dotes on his grandson Temple who is unreliable other than being Franklins secretary. He in many ways comes across as a self centered genius who is in need of directing other people's lives. As such, he often fails. He seems to be an uncaring person. He leaves his wife to die alone even though she asks him to return home so that she can see him one last time.

A genius to whom we owe much too but one who may not have been a success in his personal relations. Yet he was not a friendless man, just one who didn't value some of his family.

[Erik Graff · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few years ago, thinking of Mother's experiences during WWII in occupied Norway, I started favoring biographies of women over those of "great" men. The reason for this, other than simply as an antidote to unthinking sexist preference, was in part because I wanted more insight into the lives of people distant in time and space. Reading autobiographies of women in occupied Europe, for instance, brought to high relief matters of raising kids, obtaining food etc.--matters not often discussed in the memoirs of their husbands.

This book is about a man, but it's written by two women--one, Lopez, a Franklin expert, the other, Herbert, apparently a sociologist and historian--and focused on the personal, familial and business sides of his life, not on his political career or intellectual and scientific pursuits. As such, it gave me what I wanted.

[Alana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always thought I didn't like nonfiction but I was missing out. Some of the ironies in this story are much stranger than fiction. Very readable and well-written. One of my favorite tributes: "that in spite of tremendous odds, this Protestant envoy swayed public opinion in a Catholic nation, this delegate of a republic obtained gifts and loans from an absolute monarchy, this son of a candlemaker was treated with respect in the most snobbish court in the world, that what Adam saw as a life of "continual dissipation" was in truth a life of diplomatic triumph."