''Letters Writ by a Turkish Spy'' (french: L'Espion Turc) is an eight-volume collection of fictional letters claiming to have been written by an Ottoman spy named "Mahmut", in the French court of

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

Authorship and publication

It is agreed that the first volume of this work was written by

Giovanni Paolo Marana Giovanni Paolo Marana or sometimes Jean-Paul Marana (1642 - 1693) was a writer of both fiction and non-fiction, best remembered for his conviction for failing to reveal a conspiracy to cede the Genoese town of Savona to the Duchy of Savoy. Biograph ...

(1642–1693), a Genoese political refugee to the French court of

Rosalind Ballaster Rosalind Ballaster (born 1962 in Bombay) is a scholar of 18th-century literature and a specialist in Georgian theatre. A Professor at Mansfield College, Oxford, she is a winner of the British Academy's Rose Mary Crawshay Prize for 2006. Life Ros ...

, 2005, ''Fables of the East: selected tales, 1662-1785'', page 207 The first volume (102 letters) was published in several parts between 1684 and 1686 in both Italian and in a French translation.C. J. Betts, 1984, ''Early deism in France'', pages 97-8 They were translated by William Bradshaw into English in 1687 under the supervision of Robert Midgley, who owned the copyright of the work. The remaining seven volumes appeared first in English between 1691 and 1694, prefaced with a letter claiming that they were translated from a discovered Italian manuscript. A French edition of the last seven volumes (with the first) was published in 1696–7 and asserting that it was a translation from the English.Rosalind Ballaster, 2005, ''Fables of the East: selected tales, 1662-1785'', page 208 The eight volumes contain 644 letters. There has long been a controversy as to the authorship of the volumes subsequent to Marana's first. They have been attributed to many writers, most notably Robert Midgley and William Bradshaw, who produced the English translation.Paula R. Backscheider, Catherine Ingrassia, 2005, ''A companion to the eighteenth-century English novel and culture'', page 58 However, given the similarities between the letters, and the stylistic coherence of the whole series, the likeliest author is Marana himself.Rosalind Ballaster, 2005, ''Fabulous orients: fictions of the East in England, 1662-1785'', page 145 Marana may have had difficulty in getting the later volumes published in France and turned to England to secure their continuing appearance. The work was popular throughout the 18th century and went through fifteen complete editions by 1801.

Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, trader, journalist, pamphleteer and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its ...

was attracted to the deist rationalist sympathies of the purported spy; his ''Continuation of Turkish Letters Writ by a Turkish Spy in Paris'' (1718) extended the narrator's account from 1687 to 1693.

Content

The volumes contain fictional letters written by one "Mahmut the Arabian." The letters cover the period of 1637 to 1682 in France, from the last years of the Regency of

Anne of Austria Anne of Austria (french: Anne d'Autriche, italic=no, es, Ana María Mauricia, italic=no; 22 September 1601 – 20 January 1666) was an infanta of Spain who became Queen of France as the wife of King Louis XIII from their marriage in 1615 unti ...

and

Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu (; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as ''l'Éminence rouge'', or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the ...

through the long reign of Louis XIV and his minister

Cardinal Mazarin Cardinal Jules Mazarin (, also , , ; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino () or Mazarini, was an Italian cardinal, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Louis XIII and Louis X ...

. The Letters form a rambling journal of gossip on current politics and satire on society. Mahmut sends reports from

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

on politics and current events in France, but corresponds privately on other subjects including religion, and adds stories and anecdotes for diversion. His observations range from those on political figures such as Richelieu and Mazarin to speculations on the status of women, advice about state policy, and major interventions in controversies about religious doctrine and their consequences.Paula R. Backscheider, Catherine Ingrassia, 2005, ''A companion to the eighteenth-century English novel and culture'', page 61 His political position in the letters changes from that of liberal

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

to that of a rationalistic

Deist Deism ( or ; derived from the Latin '' deus'', meaning "god") is the philosophical position and rationalistic theology that generally rejects revelation as a source of divine knowledge, and asserts that empirical reason and observation ...

References

Gian Carlo Roscioni, ''Sulle tracce dell'esploratore turco'', Milano, Rizzoli, 1992

External links

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...