William Penn: Founder of Pennsylvania (Signature Lives: Colonial America Era) Library Binding – Import, 7 February 2006

We use this book as a part of our Philadelphia Studies to prepare our 7th graders for a historical tour of Philadelphia. It is great.

William Penn's name crops up quite frequently when reading about late seventeeth century British history. His kinsmen were closely allied with the Stuart Restoration, and Penn himself had several brushes with the law for his religious beliefs. All this before his name found its way into US history. In all the books I've read about this period, Penn appears in the shadows, quite elusive in a way, so who was this man whose name and deeds are commemorated in the great state of Philadelphia? There aren't too many biographies about William Penn, certainly not any scholarly ones sold through Amazon but there is Somervill's introduction to the man that has an extemely modest price tag. This book is brief and gives the bare bones of Penn's life and deeds but that is about all. The pages are interlaced illustrations, with simple explnations of terms or about certain events designed really for high school history. If there are any meatier treatments of Penn's life, can someone let me know?