The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Book Summary

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is based on non-fiction. Benjamin Franklin, 1706-1790, printer, scientist, statesman, wrote an Autobiography that poses a riddle never completely solved. Franklin was seen as the quintessential American by the British throughout his time as colonial agent in England, from 1764 to 1775. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is the traditional name for the unfinished record of his own life written by Benjamin Franklin from 1771 to 1790; however, Franklin himself appears to have called the work his Memoirs.

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.

Later, in France, he appeared to romantics as an ideal — a noble savage who seemed to be at ease at court. His persona showed Europeans what the regions were capable of. Many people have praised his Autobiography for providing insight into the thought of an American leader, a Founding Father, as well as a depiction of life in colonial America. And anybody interested in analyzing the components of the American character has had to study Franklin's Autobiography, if only because of the veneration with which it was regarded.