REBELS AND GENTLEMEN

Philadelphia in the age of Franklin, a period of cultural ferment that poured European culture into an American mold and shook off old world allegiance. This is the story of the men and women who led the way in the reforms and enlightenment of those years. Colonial and revolutionary cultures clashed and synthesized in an era of dynamic growth. This is a comprehensive picture of the years before the Revolution, in the accomplishments of the man and women who collectively constituted the Philadelphia mind in action, from educational standards, printers, bookshops, libraries, collections, literary production,arts, wealth flowing into social channels, and Benjamin Franklin the first gentleman of the new type. Of particular local interest, and less wide general interest elsewhere.