5.1
Benjamin Franklin the Elder, “A short account of the Family of Thomas Franklin of Ecton,” 1717. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.

8.1
Silence Dogood, “No. 2,”
New-England Courant,
April 16, 1722. Massachusetts Historical Society.

p2.1
Detail of inscription by Jane Franklin Mecom in Richard Steele, comp.,
The Ladies Library,
4th ed. (London, 1732). American Antiquarian Society.

10.1
Jane Franklin Mecom, Book of Ages, 1731–67, detail. New England Historic Genealogical Society.

10.2
The Flourishing Alphabet. George Fischer,
The American Instructor
(Philadelphia: Benjamin Franklin and David Hall, 1748). American Antiquarian Society.

10.3
Title page from Benjamin Colman,
The Father’s Tears over his Daughter’s Remains
(Boston, 1735). American Antiquarian Society.

11.1
Title page from Benjamin Franklin,
Poor Richard, 1733. An Almanack,
third impression (Philadelphia, 1732). Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

12.1
Inscription by Jane Franklin Mecom in Richard Steele, comp.,
The Ladies Library,
4th ed. (London: 1732). American Antiquarian Society.

12.2
Fifteen-shilling note (Philadelphia: Printed by Benjamin Franklin and David Hall, 1756). Colonial Williamsburg.

12.3
Edward Mecom, sheriff’s writ, 1739. Massachusetts State Archives.

14.1
Benjamin Franklin,
Experiments and Observations on Electricity
(London, 1769). Inscribed by Jane Franklin Mecom. Princeton University Library.

16.1
A letter from Jane Franklin Mecom to Deborah Read Franklin, January 29, 1758. American Philosophical Society.

16.2
Samuel Richardson,
Pamela,
5th ed. (London; Philadelphia: Reprinted and sold by B. Franklin, 1742–43). American Antiquarian Society.

20.1
The first issue of
New-England Magazine,
printed in Boston by Benjamin Mecom. Widener Library, Harvard University.

22.1
“To Be Sold by Jane Mecom,” advertisement,
Boston Evening-Post,
November 16, 1767. American Antiquarian Society.

37.1
Benjamin Franklin,
The Private Life of the late Benjamin Franklin, LL.D.
(London, 1793). Houghton Library, Harvard University.

38.1
Jane Austen’s “History of England,” 1791. British Library.

39.1
Obituary for Jane Franklin Mecom in
Greenleaf’s New-York Journal and Patriotic Register,
May 17, 1794. American Antiquarian Society.

43.1
Sally Flagg, stitched sampler, embroidered silk on linen, 1802. Thayer Memorial Library.

A Note About the Author

Jill Lepore is the David Woods Kemper ’41 Professor of American History at Harvard University and a staff writer at
The New Yorker
. Her books include
New York Burning
, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize;
The Name of War
, winner of the Bancroft Prize; and
The Mansion of Happiness
, which was shortlisted for the 2013 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Other titles by Jill Lepore available in eBook format

A Is for American
• 978-0-307-42438-9
The Mansion of Happiness
• 978-0-307-95850-1
The Name of War
• 978-0-307-48857-2
New York Burning
• 978-0-307-42700-7

Visit:
http://scholar.harvard.edu/jlepore

For more information, please visit
www.aaknopf.com

ALSO BY JILL LEPORE

The Mansion of Happiness

The Story of America

The Whites of Their Eyes

New York Burning

A Is for American

The Name of War

A Calendar of Letters
(Large Images)