New England Courant - third Silence Dogood essay (detail)

Mrs. Silence Dogood was the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

used by

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading int ...

to get his work published in the '' New-England Courant'', a newspaper founded and published by his brother James Franklin. This was after Benjamin Franklin was denied several times when he tried to publish letters under his own name in the ''Courant''. The 14 Mrs. Silence Dogood letters were first printed in 1722.

History

As a young boy, Franklin worked as an

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

in his older brother's printing shop in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, where ''The New-England Courant'' was published and printed. Franklin never got anything he wrote published, so, at age 16, he created the persona of a middle-aged

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word can so ...

named Silence Dogood. Once every two weeks, he would leave a letter under the door of his brother's printing shop. A total of 14 letters were sent. The first letter began: The letters poked fun at various aspects of life in

colonial America The colonial history of the United States covers the history of European colonization of North America from the early 17th century until the incorporation of the Thirteen Colonies into the United States after the Revolutionary War. In the ...

, such as this quote about hoop petticoats: The letters were published in ''The New-England Courant'' fortnightly, and amused readers. Some men wrote in offering to marry Ms. Dogood, upon learning she was widowed. Eventually, James found out that all fourteen of the letters had been written by his younger brother, which angered him. Benjamin left his apprenticeship without permission and escaped to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

.Van Doren, Carl. ''Benjamin Franklin''. (1938). Penguin reprint 1991.

Letters 1 & 2 – Dogood's background

Franklin created a whole background for his character, and explained this in depth in the majority of his first letter: The whole second letter was an account of Dogood's life:

In popular culture

The Silence Dogood letters feature in the 2004 movie '' National Treasure''. After stealing the

United States Declaration of Independence The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House ( ...

, cryptologist Benjamin Franklin Gates (

Nicolas Cage Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor and film producer. Born into the Coppola family, he is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Gui ...

), Riley Poole (

Justin Bartha Justin Lee Bartha (born July 21, 1978) is an American actor, known for his roles as Riley Poole in the ''National Treasure'' film series, Doug Billings in ''The Hangover'' trilogy, and David Sawyer in the NBC comedy series '' The New Normal''. ...

), and Dr. Abigail Chase (

Diane Kruger Diane Kruger ( Heidkrüger; ; born 15 July 1976) is a German and American actress. Early in her career, Kruger gained worldwide recognition and received the Trophée Chopard from the Cannes Film Festival. Kruger became known for her roles in ...

) find an Ottendorf cipher hidden in invisible ink on the back of the Declaration. Following the discovery of a

Knights Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

riddle, which said "The key in Silence undetected", a link between the Silence Dogood letters and the cipher is established. The cipher is used to find the hidden message in the letters, which proves to be another clue. With the help of a fellow museum visitor (Yves Michael-Beneche), Riley gains the letters of the cipher needed to complete the puzzle while remaining undetected by their enemies, led by Ian Howe (

Sean Bean Sean Bean (born Shaun Mark Bean on 17 April 1959) is an English actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Bean made his professional debut in a theatre production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' in 1983. Retaining his Yorkshire ac ...

References

External links

The Papers of Benjamin Franklin
online archive which includes the Dogood letters BROKEN LINK * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dogood, Silence Letters (message) Benjamin Franklin Works by Benjamin Franklin 18th-century pseudonymous writers