Women's Letters Across Europe, 1400-1700: Form and Persuasion (review)

Abstract

This edited collection of essays on women's letters is further evidence of the growing interest in manuscript and print letters of the early modern period, and is a good example of the variety of work being generated. The editors' introduction gives a useful overview of the field. Epistolary form is defined by its proximity to life. The editors claim that although letters are 'composed' according to rhetorical rules, they provide 'however briefly and partially, a window on [their writer's'] worlds' (p. 5, 3). The letter is a functional form of writing, shaped by rules and codes. The letter is a quotidian form of writing practised by a broader group of authors than elite literary genres. It is also a purpose-driven form: the letter-writer writes in order to achieve something...