Send us Fan Mail

Benjamin Franklin published fourteen Silence Dogood essays in the New-England Courant in 1722, slipping them under the print shop door so his brother James wouldn't know who wrote them. It's the first case of a founding father not only trolling his brother but also catfishing when James developed an affection for Silence. 

 By Essay Nine, Silence had found her footing — and her targets. This one aims at a particular Boston type: the man who wraps himself in religion just long enough to get elected, then sets it aside like a Sunday coat.

Franklin was sixteen years old when he wrote it, and he already understood that the loudest piety in the room is often the least trustworthy. 

Learn more about The Spectral and Literary Summit at our website - www.spectral-summit.com.  We offer historic and literary videos and podcasts that make the past and literature come alive.  This is a production of Creative Actors Lab . Check out our Instagram page here.