The material letter in early modern England: manuscript letters and the culture and practices of letter-writing, 1512-1635

Concentrating on the years 1512-1635, this book represents the first major socio-cultural study of manuscript letters and letter-writing practices in earlymodern England. It examines a crucial period in the development of the English vernacular letter before Charles I's postal reforms in 1635, one that witnessed a significant extension of letter-writing skills throughout society. Earlymodern letters can only be fully understood by paying attention to the 'materiality' of the texts: in others words, to the physical characteristics of manuscripts as well as to the social contexts and material conditions in which they were produced, disseminated and read. This study aims to enhance our understanding of the process of early modern letter-writing in all its nuanced complexity, as it is traced from the preparation of epistolary materials and the textual production of letters, through their subsequent delivery and circulation,to the various ways in which letters were read and latterly preserved. INDICE: List of Illustrations.List of Abbreviations.Acknowledgements.Introduction.Materials and Tools of Letter-Writing.Epistolary Writing Technologies.Interpreting Materiality and Social Signs.Postal Conditions .Secret Letters .Copying, Letter-Books and the Scribal Circulation of Letters .The Afterlives ofLetters.Conclusion.Notes.Selected Bibliography.Index.

• ISBN: 978-0-230-22269-4
• Editorial: Palgrave Macmillan
• Encuadernacion: Cartoné
• Páginas: 376
• Fecha Publicación: 20/04/2012
• Nº Volúmenes: 1
• Idioma: Desconocido