Life of Franklin

François-Auguste-Marie-Alexis MignetProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.4

Word count: 287K words
Chapters: 29

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Vie de Franklin by M. MignetAuthor: Mignet, M. (François-Auguste-Marie-Alexis), 1796-1884,Language: French, Class: E300: History: America: Revolution to the Civil War (1783-1861), Release Date: Feb 20, 2006

Editor's review

Mignet was a major nineteenth-century French historian. This Vie de Franklin, written in French, is short but gives a clear, readable account of Franklin's life from printing apprentice to diplomat. The author excels at analyzing institutions and historical context, so the book offers not only a story of individual striving but also the political and intellectual atmosphere among Britain, America, and France in the eighteenth century. For Chinese readers its value is twofold: an introductory French-language work on Franklin's life, and a sample of how a nineteenth-century French scholar understood the American Revolution and Enlightenment figures. The prose is nineteenth-century French with long sentences, suited to readers with some French reading ability who can take it slowly. For reference use, it can be read alongside Chinese works on American history.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Learners with intermediate or higher French reading ability who want to practice reading historical biography
Readers studying Franklin or the history of the American Revolution who need foreign-language reference materials
Those interested in nineteenth-century French historiographical style
Readers who want a brief account of Franklin's life

Not a good fit for

Readers with no French who can read only Chinese
Those expecting a light, story-driven biography or abundant anecdotal detail
Readers needing modern scholarly annotation and the latest research

Reading tips

Read one chapter first to get a feel for nineteenth-century French syntax, then read closely paragraph by paragraph with a dictionary.
Consult a Franklin chronology while reading to keep people and events in order.
Pause at passages on political background and supplement with Chinese materials on the American Revolution.
Excerpt evaluative statements separately and compare the author's stance with later scholarship.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book in Chinese or French?

The main text is in French. It is Mignet's biography of Franklin, released as an e-book by Project Gutenberg, and no Chinese translation is provided. Some knowledge of French is needed before reading.

Can I read it without any French?

Reading it directly would be quite difficult. The sentences are long and in a nineteenth-century French style. Readers without French can start with a Chinese-language biography of Franklin and keep this book for comparison or more advanced study.

Is this book suitable for academic citation?

It can serve as a historical lead for a nineteenth-century French scholar's study of Franklin, but it is not a modern scholarly edition and lacks detailed notes and a bibliography. Before formal citation, the original edition and relevant research should be checked.

What should I pay attention to when reading the electronic edition?

Reading software with adjustable font size and a dictionary function is recommended for handling long sentences and unfamiliar words. Because it is a public-domain electronic text, the layout may differ from the printed book; when citing, note the source and edition information.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

François-Auguste-Marie-Alexis Mignet Author · French · 1796–1884

François-Auguste-Marie-Alexis Mignet (1796–1884) was a French historian and a member of the Académie française. He was known for clear, well-organized historical narrative. His representative work, History of the French Revolution from 1789 to 1814, traces the political course of the Revolution through the end of the Empire in chronological order and has long been regarded as a basic introduction to the period; his Vie de Franklin reflects his handling of biography and its historical background. Two of his works are held in this collection. Public information on his early education, professional posts, and scholarly connections is limited, and no conjecture is offered here.