An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of letters between the fictional characters of a narrative. The term is often extended to cover novels that intersperse documents of other kinds with the letters, most commonly diary entries and newspaper clippings, and sometimes considered to include novels composed of documents even if they do not include letters at all. More recently, epistolaries may include electronic documents such as recordings and radio, blog posts, and e-mails. The word epistolary is derived from Latin from the Greek word ἐπιστολή, epistolē, meaning a letter (see epistle). This type of fiction is also sometimes known by the German term Briefroman or more generally as epistolary fiction.
Lettres de cachet were letters signed by the king of France, countersigned by one of his ministers, and closed with the royal seal. They contained orders directly from the king, often to enforce arbitrary actions and judgments that could not be appealed.
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1669.
Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné, also widely known as Madame de Sévigné or Mme de Sévigné, was a French aristocrat, remembered for her letter-writing. Most of her letters, celebrated for their wit and vividness, were addressed to her daughter, Françoise-Marguerite de Sévigné. She is revered in France as one of the great icons of French 17th-century literature.
Jeanne Julie Éléonore de Lespinasse was a French salon holder and letter writer. She held a prominent salon in Paris during the Enlightenment. She is best-known today, however, for her letters, first published in 1809, which offer compelling accounts of two tragic love affairs.
Sóror Mariana Alcoforado was a Portuguese nun living in the convent of the Poor Clares in Beja, Portugal.
Beja is a city and a municipality in the Alentejo region, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 35,854, in an area of 1,146.44 km2 (442.64 sq mi). The city proper had a population of 21,658 in 2001.
Persian Letters is a literary work, published in 1721, by Charles de Secondat, baron de Montesquieu, recounting the experiences of two fictional Persian noblemen, Usbek and Rica, who spend several years in France under Louis XIV and the Regency.
17th-century French literature was written throughout the Grand Siècle of France, spanning the reigns of Henry IV of France, the Regency of Marie de Medici, Louis XIII of France, the Regency of Anne of Austria and the reign of Louis XIV of France. The literature of this period is often equated with the Classicism of Louis XIV's long reign, during which France led Europe in political and cultural development; its authors expounded the classical ideals of order, clarity, proportion and good taste. In reality, 17th-century French literature encompasses far more than just the classicist masterpieces of Jean Racine and Madame de La Fayette.
Marie-Jeanne Riccoboni, whose maiden name was Laboras de Mézières, was a French actress and novelist.
Françoise de Graffigny, better known as Madame de Graffigny, was a French novelist, playwright and salon hostess.
Letters from a Peruvian Woman is a 1747 epistolary novel by Françoise de Graffigny. It tells the story of Zilia, a young Incan princess, who is abducted from the Temple of the Sun by the Spanish during the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. In a series of letters to her fiancé Aza, who is also the Sapa Inca, Zilia tells the story of her capture, her rescue by French sailors, her befriending of the captain Déterville and her introduction to French society.
The Château de Guilleragues is a medieval, previously ruined but restored castle in the commune of Saint-Sulpice-de-Guilleragues in the Gironde département of France.
Mémoires de deux jeunes mariées is an epistolary novel by the French writer Honoré de Balzac. It was serialized in the French newspaper La Presse in 1841 and published by Furne in 1842 as the first work in the second volume of Balzac's La Comédie humaine. It was dedicated to the French novelist George Sand. The first English translation of the novel appeared in 1902, with a preface by Henry James.
Donatien Alphonse François de Sade, best known as the Marquis de Sade, was a French aristocrat, revolutionary and author of philosophical and sadomasochistic novels exploring such controversial subjects as rape, bestiality and necrophilia. His works evidence a philosophical mind advocating a materialist philosophy in which Nature dictates absolute freedom, unrestrained by morality, religion or law, with the pursuit of personal pleasure as its foremost principle. Besides novels, he wrote philosophical tracts, novellas, short stories, and a number of plays. Publication, dissemination, and translation of his works have long been hindered by censorship: not until 1983 were his works allowed unfettered distribution in the UK, for instance.
Germain Louis Chauvelin, marquis de Grosbois, was a French politician, serving as garde des sceaux and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs under Louis XV.
Women letter writers in early modern Europe created lengthy correspondences, where they expressed their intellect and their creativity; in the process, they also left a rich historical legacy.
Myriam Cyr is a Canadian actress and writer. As an actress she is best known for her roles as Claire Clairmont in the 1986 horror film Gothic and Ultra Violet in the 1996 biopic I Shot Andy Warhol. In 2006 she published the non-fiction work Letters of a Portuguese Nun: Uncovering the Mystery Behind a 17th Century Forbidden Love. In 2017 she co-wrote and directed the play ‘Saltonstall’s Trial’ set during the Salem witch trial.
Love Letters of a Portuguese Nun is a 1977 West German-Swiss film directed by Jesús Franco and produced by Erwin Dietrich, loosely based on the Letters of a Portuguese Nun attributed to Mariana Alcoforado. It starred Susan Hemingway and William Berger. Franco co-wrote the screenplay with producer Dietrich.
New Portuguese Letters is a literary work composed of letters, essays, poems, fragments, puzzles and excerpts from legal documents, published jointly by the Portuguese writers Maria Isabel Barreno, Maria Teresa Horta and Maria Velho da Costa in 1972. The authors became known internationally as "The Three Marias", which became the title of the book in its first translation to English.
