Benjamin Franklin in London: The British Life of America's Founding Father by George Goodwin, and: Benjamin Franklin: The Religious Life of a Founding Father by Thomas S. Kidd, and: Benjamin Franklin and the Ends of Empire by Carla J. Mulford (review)

There has been a resurgence of interest in the life of Founder Benjamin Franklin in recent years, with these three volumes the most recent contributions to the literature. George Goodwin and Carla J. Mulford take different approaches to Benjamin Franklin as a global figure, while Thomas S. Kidd focuses upon the role religion played in Franklin's life and career.

Benjamin Franklin in London covers Franklin's life while focusing on the Founder's visits to London, from 1724 to 1726 as a youth and 1757 to 1775 as an adult (with one brief return to Philadelphia, 1762–64). Goodwin notes that Franklin saw himself as British his entire life and openly adapted British customs and ideas to colonial society. During the first visit, Franklin found work as a printer's apprentice, met a bookseller who allowed him to borrow second-hand books, and became exposed to natural philosophy (science), which helped immensely during his future scientific experiments. Franklin quickly realized when he returned in 1757 that both he and London had changed since his previous visit. This time, he represented Pennsylvania's colonial government and had enough money to buy books instead of borrowing them. Franklin mingled with prime ministers and members of Parliament, along with Britain's intellectual elite.

Franklin's first challenge in London was dealing with the Penn Family, proprietors of Pennsylvania, whose interests were contrary to those of the Assembly he represented and whose actions Franklin considered deceitful. Ultimately, Franklin chose to deal directly with the Privy Council and other British officials on matters related to the province and avoided interactions with Thomas Penn.

When Franklin returned to Philadelphia in 1762 he developed a political partnership with Joseph Galloway, one that ultimately broke down because of differences over the power of the imperial government. His defeat for election to the Assembly in 1764 prompted his return to England. He still represented the Pennsylvania Assembly in London, but this time his instructions were to transition Pennsylvania from proprietary to royal control. Meanwhile, Franklin became embroiled in the Stamp Act controversy; Franklin initially misjudged colonial opposition, and colonists perceived that he had supported the hated act. Instead, his testimony before Parliament contributed toward its repeal in 1766. By 1770, according to Goodwin, Franklin had changed from being a strong supporter of the empire to someone who was beginning to question the economic relationships between the colonists and England. Following Franklin's dismissal as colonial agent, he remained in England to pursue scientific pursuits, returning to Philadelphia a few days before the first meeting of the Second Continental Congress.

Franklin's faith—raised in Puritan Massachusetts, he lived most of his life in religiously diverse Philadelphia—is the subject of Thomas S. Kidd's Benjamin Franklin: The Religious Life of a Founding Father. According to Kidd, the common portrayal of Franklin as a deist is one that dismisses Franklin's religious convictions. Indeed, Kidd states that Franklin was the founder of "Doctrineless Christianity," a faith in which beliefs were not essential.

Kidd's volume focuses on Franklin's life from the early 1720s to the late 1770s, particularly the period between the two visits to London described by Goodwin. Franklin's parents had migrated to Boston in the 1680s, seeking both religious freedom and economic opportunity. Young Franklin was a voracious reader, with the works of Cotton Mather and Daniel Defoe especially popular. Unlike most "bookish boys" in...