![]() ![]() In June 1745, during his common-law marriage to Deborah Read, his essay, “Old Mistresses’ Apologue,” later known as “A Letter to a Friend on Choosing a Mistress,” explained why older women were preferable to younger ones as mistresses.įranklin scholars, embarrassed by the letter’s prurient tone, kept that essay hidden for nearly two centuries to avoid reflecting badly upon the founding father. One of those dalliances resulted in the birth of his illegitimate son, William. But not according to Ben, who seemed to understand a lot about the sexuality of older women.ĭespite his famous warnings about the importance of personal discretion, Ben confessed in his autobiography that he had often succumbed to that “hard-to-be-governed passion of youth” with women. ![]() ![]() After all, it is widely assumed that young women are better in bed than older ones. That may explain why he penned a letter in 1745 to a single man about the best way to sate his sexual impulses outside marriage.īen’s advice? Sleep with an older woman instead of a young one.Īt first blush, the idea sounds ridiculous. Portrait by Joseph-Siffred Dupessis, oil on canvas, circa 1785Įveryone knows Benjamin Franklin was a scientist, an inventor, and a diplomat, but did you know he also had the makings of a great romance advice columnist? The founding father was well suited to that job because of his wide experience with women. ![]()
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