A lifetime of work on Penn's Big Ben

Whartonites, behold: Success can start with a job that pays 65 cents an hour. Anne Claude-Lopez's only qualifications were knowledge of French, Latin, History, Italian -- and a knack for deciphering 18th-century script. About 40 years ago, Lopez translated Benjamin Franklin's letters -- which are located in Yale University's rare book collection -- from French to English to help support her children. She has penned numerous books about Franklin and, as the sole scholar to have read each of his thousands of letters, is an authority on his life. "I think it's mostly his intellect that draws me," Lopez said yesterday at the Penn Bookstore, before an intimate audience at the signing of her most recent book, My Life With Benjamin Franklin. "[Franklin] could be very vindictive, but he could also be sweet and wonderful." While at Yale, Lopez tired of her translating job and considered writing a book on Franklin, despite doubts that she could portray his career skillfully. But her intimate knowledge of Franklin's years in Paris was unparalleled. "To women, he wrote in French," Lopez explained. "His correspondence with women was absolutely delightful." Lopez wrote about Franklin and his "femmes Parisiennes" in a book titled Mon Cher Papa, as he was known to the French. While touring with the book, Lopez's readers voiced an interest in Franklin's personal life, and were rewarded with her second book. The Private Franklin is a biography of how America's first foreign diplomat -- and Penn's founder -- navigated the political territory of his own home. "My editors said, OYour first book was very good, but this is of no interest,'" Lopez recalled. But The Private Franklin enjoyed considerable popularity and received several awards. Lopez's new book is a collection of non-fictional stories detailing aspects of Franklin's life as varied as the erroneous labeling of Franklin as an anti-Semite and his swimming prowess. One essay investigates Franklin's adaptation of writing-style to the expectations of three correspondents. Lopez emphasized that despite extensive contact and correspondence with women, Franklin was not the philanderer many Americans believe. "In France, the first thing that is discussed is his genius, how many things he tackled," Lopez said. "Nobody talks about women." Publishers' naysaying -- and popular notions about Franklin -- have not been Lopez's only obstacles. Exposing John Adams' harsh appraisals of Franklin has earned Lopez herself criticism, but her enthusiasm has not waned. "Writing is addictive," Lopez said. "It's as bad as heroin, I think. Once you've written one book, you cannot stop. It's divine." Lopez's colleagues and audience match her enthusiasm. "She writes and speaks with great verve and charm and knowledge," said Bell Whitfield, associate editor of The Papers of Benjamin Franklin. Nan Newman, a visitor to Philadelphia, found Lopez's talk unique. "I thought she was charming," Newman said. "I could have listened to her for hours." Lopez's current project is the publication of Franklin's letters in their entirety. So far, 36 volumes are available. Lopez also helps put out the Franklin Gazette -- a collection of articles related to Franklin -- which is published four times annually. "At my age, I should be rocking and knitting, but I'm still at it," Lopez said, laughing. "I'm no good at knitting."