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CONTENTS Preface ix Introduction: A Life in Laughter 1 1. Silence Dogood 1722–1723 11 2. Paragraphs in Philadelphia 1729–1735 27 3. Philadelphia’s Poor Richard 1733–1748 47 4. Philadelphia Comic Relief 1748–1757 65 5. Making Friends Overseas 1757–1774 85 6. Losing London 1773–1776 103 7. Seducing Paris 1776–1782 119 8. Comic Release 1783–1785 137 9. Revising Past and Future 1786–1790 153 Notes 169 Sources 175 Index 181 ...

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