Joseph and Jefferson chat: 

 

"Mr. Franklin had all the social skills I lacked: he loved Parisian salons and their women, young and old. He also loved defying French protocol by dressing as a simple Quaker," Jefferson said.

…

"I loved the French calling him 'the electrical ambassador'. The French knew of Franklin's experiments in electricity. And his nickname had a hidden meaning: liberty had become inevitable."

 

 

 

Joseph and Jefferson chat:

 

"She was Maria Cosway, an Anglo-Italian painter." Jefferson expression was innocent. "Her self-portrait with arms crossed and looking directly at the viewer is a rather unusual pose for a woman. She wanted wings to fly."

"Were you in love?" I asked.

"So much so that, for a while, we saw or wrote each other daily. I debated the issue in a letter to her I titled 'Head and Heart.' But, unlike you, my head won over my heart."

 

 

 

Joseph reminisces:

 

I kept to myself how the Abbé Ferdinando Galiani and his adventures in Paris had showed me how to pursue my goals. He turned out to be, somehow, a more vibrant example for my future career than Genovese, despite the latter's great teachings. Galiani's life abroad was stimulating and exciting…back in Naples, we all knew how he eagerly awaited letters from the celebrated Mme d'Épinay.