The thirty-first volume of the collected writings and correspondences of the American statesman, ambassador, and Founding Father Benjamin Franklin
Volume 31 of The Papers of Benjamin Franklin is the fourth volume in the sequence dealing with Franklin’s tenure as sole minister to the French court, and it is the ninth of a projected twenty volumes covering Franklin’s years in France.
Franklin’s public life was exceptionally busy. Among his duties were supervising the collection of arms and uniforms for the American army and conducting an inquiry into the conduct of Captain Pierre Landais at the Battle off Flamborough Head. This volume gives much information about Franklin’s other interests as well, ranging from a fascinating tailor’s bill to a lengthy memorial describing his western land ventures. Five of his bagatelles—including “The Whistle” and “The Elysian Fields,” composed for the two most important women in his French life, Mme. Brillon and Mme. Helvétius—appear here. Students of a variety of subjects, from cryptography to the history of printing, will find material of interest in this richly varied collection of letters and documents. Volume 31 is a major addition not only to Franklin studies but also to the study of early American history.
Publication of this volume was assisted by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission
Barbara B. Oberg served as editor in chief of the Papers of Benjamin Franklin from 1986 to 1998.
Related Books
Sign up to the Yale newsletter for book news, offers, free extracts and more
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Strictly Necessary Cookies
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.
If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.