The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin — narrated by a designed AI voice
Press play — the AI narration lights up word by word. This sample is free.
Read the transcript
Dear son: I have ever had pleasure in obtaining any little anecdotes of my ancestors. You may remember the inquiries I made among the remains of my relations when you were with me in England, and the journey I undertook for that purpose. Imagining it may be equally agreeable to you to know the circumstances of my life, many of which you are yet unacquainted with, and expecting the enjoyment of a week's uninterrupted leisure in my present country retirement, I sit down to write them for you. To which I have besides some other inducements. Having emerged from the poverty and obscurity in which I was born and bred, to a state of affluence and some degree of reputation in the world, and having gone so far through life with a considerable share of felicity, the conducing means I made use of, which with the blessing of God so well succeeded, my posterity may like to know, as they may find some of them suitable to their own situations, and therefore fit to be imitated.
“The most acceptable service of God is doing good to man.”
About this work
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin was begun in 1771 as a letter to his son and taken up again in the 1780s; Franklin never finished it. It follows him from his Boston boyhood and his apprenticeship to his brother's printing shop, through his runaway arrival in Philadelphia, his first business, his famous plan of thirteen virtues and his civic projects, to his mission to London in 1757.
Heard aloud, the book keeps the tone of what it first was: an old man talking frankly to his family about how he made his way, mistakes and vanities included.
Who was Benjamin Franklin?
Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) was the son of a Boston candle maker who became a printer, writer, scientist, inventor and statesman. He built a printing business in Philadelphia, published Poor Richard's Almanack, showed with his kite experiment that lightning is electricity, and helped found a lending library, a fire company, a hospital and the academy that became the University of Pennsylvania.
He represented the colonies in London, helped draft and signed the Declaration of Independence, won the alliance with France, negotiated the peace with Britain and sat in the Constitutional Convention of 1787. His wit and plain, self-taught style made him one of the best-known Americans of his age.
About the voice
This edition uses a designed AI voice: a new voice generated from a written description of Benjamin Franklin’s voice, not cloned from any recording of the author. It is not a recording of Benjamin Franklin reading this work.
Provenance: Designed AI voice — designed from a written description, not cloned from any recording of the author. We label every voice by how it was made for this edition — restored, designed, studio AI, or disputed.
Questions
Is this Benjamin Franklin’s recorded voice?
No. This edition uses a designed AI voice: a new voice generated from a written description of Benjamin Franklin’s voice, not cloned from any recording of the author. It is not a recording of Benjamin Franklin reading this work.
Is The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin in the public domain?
Yes. Franklin wrote it between 1771 and 1790, and the edition used here was published in 1916; it is in the public domain in the United States; availability varies by country.
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