Play Audiobook Sample
A Great Improvisation (Abridged): Franklin, France, and the Birth of America Audiobook
Play Audiobook Sample
(3.02) - 336 listener ratings
Quick Stats About this Audiobook
Total Audiobook Chapters:
Longest Chapter Length:
Shortest Chapter Length:
Average Chapter Length:
Audiobooks by this Author:
Publisher Description
“In December 1776, a small boat delivered an old man to France.” So begins a dazzling narrative account of Benjamin Franklin’s French mission, the most exacting–and momentous–eight years of his life. When Franklin embarked, the colonies were without money, munitions, gunpowder or common cause; like all adolescents, they were to discover that there was a difference between declaring independence and achieving it. To close that gap Franklin was dispatched to Paris, amid great secrecy, across a winter sea thick with enemy cruisers. He was seventy years old, without any diplomatic training, and possessed of the most rudimentary French. He was also among the most famous men in the world. Franklin well understood that he was off on the greatest gamble of his career. But despite minimal direction from Congress he was soon outwitting the British secret service and stirring passion for a republic in an absolute monarchy. In A Great Improvisation Pulitzer Prize winner Stacy Schiff offers an utterly fresh and thrilling account of Franklin’s Parisian adventure and of America’s debut on the world stage. Schiff weaves her tale of international intrigue from new and little-known primary sources, working from a host of diplomatic archives, family papers, and intelligence reports. From her pages emerges a particularly human Founding Father, as well as a vivid sense of how fragile, improvisational, and international was our country’ s bid for independence.
Download and start listening now!
"Dazzling. I am more convinced than ever that the destinies of France and the United States are inextricably linked, and that we all owe not a small debt of gratitude to Mr. Franklin. Schiff's book reveals him at his brilliant, witty, cunning best."
— Staci (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
-
“Franklin was an ideal choice for the mission, as Stacy Schiff shows in this meticulously researched and judicious account of his eight years as a diplomatic dazzler and charmer in Paris.”
— New York Times -
“Despite the undeniable impact on U.S.-French relations of two tumultuous centuries, A Great Improvisation reminds us that profound cultural differences between the two societies have not changed all that much—and thus remain at the root of their conflicting visions of the world. Plus ça change.”
— Washington Post -
“In sparkling prose, burnished to a high gloss, Stacy Schiff tells the tale of Benjamin Franklin in Paris with piquant humor, outrageous anecdotes worthy of the finest French farce, and a wealth of lapidary observations. Her Paris unfolds as a glittering carnival of spies, rogues, frauds, and flawed reformers, eccentric nobility and perpetually squabbling American diplomats. Towering above all is the protean figure of Franklin, an improbable compound of wit, cunning, hypocrisy, courage, and tireless devotion to his country. C’est magnifique!”
— Ron Chernow, New York Times author of Alexander Hamilton -
“What a brilliant book. A Great Improvisation pays tribute to the extraordinary love affair between monarchist France and the republican Benjamin Franklin. Their child was America, conceived at home and nurtured into maturity by France. It is a story full of intrigue, jealousy, and passion. But ultimately it is a celebration of one American’s love for his country. Stacy Schiff has written a masterpiece, capturing a fleeting moment when the stars aligned between Congress and Versailles.”
— Amanda Foreman, author of Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire
Awards
-
Winner of the 2006 Ambassador Book Award for American Studies
-
A 2005 New York Times Book Review Notable Book
A Great Improvisation Listener Reviews
-
" Franklin seems to have been shafted by history, but this book reasserts his greatness. "
— Darren, 2/14/2014 -
" Of course, we're all impressed with the author's extensive research and knowledge. However, it takes more time to describe Franklin's ride into town than it took him to make the ride. I've read about Franklin before and have loved reading his thoughts, beliefs, approaches, etc. but I lost interest in this book. "
— Eric, 1/18/2014 -
" Good biography of Franklin's years in France. Detailed information of his relationships with French benefactors, friends and fans. Often funny, and staunchly supportive of Franklin's many gifts as a diplomat. Does not overlook or minimalize Franklin's slights and occassional cruelty to his wife and daughter, while he delighted and enjoyed the company of many female friends. Explores his complex relationship with his Tory illegitimate son, adored illegitimate grandson, and tolerated grandson, who followed in the "family business". "
— Jan, 1/14/2014 -
" A gossipy, fun book to read about America's diplomatic outreach to France during the American Revolution. The author reveals the appealing aspects of Benjamin Franklin's character, but also provides evidence of the contradictions in his life and personality. John Adams doesn't appear to be a very appealing man, but you get a sense of his frustration in playing second fiddle to Franklin. You won't learn much about the battles of the Revolution, but will be treated to the development of the U.S. relationship with France's monarchy, the lifestyle of the French upper class, a bit of the scientifc discoveries of the time (including ballooning) and the immediate ramifications for France and Louis XVI in extending help to the former British colonies in their quest to become independent. "
— Kendra, 1/5/2014 -
" A most readable biography of Ben Franklin. "
— Judywhaase, 12/26/2013 -
" Good, but could have used a bit more editting. "
— G., 12/26/2013 -
" Superb - critical piece of American Revolution - "
— Rosina, 11/30/2013 -
" Couldn't get very far into this. I love the time period, and really enjoyed Schiff's biography of Cleopatra, but this one just didn't do it for me! "
— Michele, 11/12/2013 -
" Interesting man and time. "
— Corrine, 10/13/2013 -
" I think I am done with Stacy Schiff books. I can't seem to get into them the way I do McCullough or others. "
— David, 8/13/2013 -
" Enjoyable, well documented. What high jinx! Ben Franklin cheats at chess. Strange phrasing and punctuation, though. Grammatical but torturous at times. "
— Bird, 2/23/2013 -
" This read almost like a novel. Actually, I listened to it as an audiobook. My only critique is that it was abridged, and felt like it as I listened. "
— Meribeth, 1/27/2013 -
" Schiff writes a bit hoity-toity, but I like her approach to Franklin. "
— Chris, 12/8/2012 -
" One of the best-written histories I've ever read. Impressive research that really gives the flavor of the time and place. "
— Lea, 10/30/2012 -
" Well-researched, but so boring. "
— Jenny, 2/15/2012 -
" The more I read about the American Revolution, the more utterly amazing and inexplicable I find it that it actually succeeded. "
— Schmerica, 1/18/2012 -
" Taking a little break from Fiction with this great story of Franklin's time in France "
— Nick, 1/15/2012 -
" An excellent history of Franklin's time in France securing that country's support for America's independence from Great Britain. Very well written and sophisticated in its portrayal of the complicated personalities involved. "
— David, 10/10/2011 -
" The genius of Franklin in full flower. A great book! "
— Karl, 8/31/2011 -
" Thought it'd be more of a story, not so much a history textbook. "
— Mallory, 5/23/2011 -
" I only got part way through it before my audio book expired. Well written and it's nice to read re-re-written herstory! "
— Debbie, 5/21/2011 -
" Not sure if I can make it through. Pretty speculative. "
— Margaret, 5/18/2011
About Stacy Schiff
Stacy Schiff is the acclaimed author of books that have won numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize, the George Washington Book Prize, the Ambassador Book Award, and the PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography. Several of her books have made the New York Times bestsellers list. She has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, she was named a Chevalier des Arts et Lettres by the French Government and in 2011 was named a Library Lion by the New York Public Library,
About Jason Culp
Jason Culp, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, has been acting since the age of ten, and his credits include a variety of television, theater, and film roles. He is best known for his role as Julian Jerome on General Hospital. In addition to audiobooks and voice-over work in national commercials, he has also narrated documentaries for National Geographic and the History Channel.