This book is an extensive investigation of letters and letter writing across two centuries, focusing on the sociocultural function and meaning of epistolary writing-letters that were circulated, were intended to circulate, or were perceived to circulate within 'the culture of epistolarity' in early modern England. The study examines how the letter functioned in a variety of social contexts, yet also assesses what the letter meant as idea to early modern letter writers, investigating letters in both manuscript epistolarity, and print contexts. It begins with an overview of the culture of epistolarity and examines the material components of letter exchange, investigates how emotion was persuasively textualized in the letter, considers the transmission of news and intelligence, and examines the publication of letters as propaganda and as collections of moral-didactic, personal, and state letters.
- ISBN10 1611492564
- ISBN13 9781611492569
- Publish Date 1 May 2005 (first published 14 April 2005)
- Publish Status Out of Stock
- Publish Country US
- Publisher Associated University Presses
- Imprint University of Delaware Press
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 388
- Language English