A letter collection or letter book consists of a
publication
To publish is to make content available to the general public.[Berne Con ...](_blank)
, usually a book, containing a compilation of
letters written by a real person. Unlike an
epistolary novel, a letter collection belongs to
non-fiction literature. As a publication, a letter collection is distinct from an
archive
An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located.
Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...
, which is a repository of original documents.
Usually, the original letters are written over the course of the lifetime of an important individual, noted either for their social position or their intellectual influence, and consist of messages to specific recipients. They might also be
open letters
An open letter is a letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally.
Open letters usually take the form of a letter addressed to an indiv ...
intended for a broad audience. After these letters have served their original purpose, a letter collection gathers them to be republished as a group.
Letter collections, as a form of
life writing
Life writing is an expansive genre that primarily deals with the purposeful recording of personal memories, experiences, opinions, and emotions for different ends. While what actually constitutes life writing has been up for debate throughout his ...
, serve a
biographical
A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...
purpose.
They also typically select and organize the letters to serve an aesthetic or
didactic aim, as in literary
belles-lettres
is a category of writing, originally meaning beautiful or fine writing. In the modern narrow sense, it is a label for literary works that do not fall into the major categories such as fiction, poetry, or drama. The phrase is sometimes used pejora ...
and religious
epistles.
The
editor who chooses, organizes, and sometimes alters the letters plays a major role in the interpretation of the published collection.
Letter collections have existed as a form of literature in most times and places where letter-writing played a prominent part of public life. Before the invention of
printing
Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The e ...
, letter collections were recopied and circulated as
manuscripts, like all literature.
Letter collections in history
Antiquity
In ancient Greece,
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
(106 – 43 BC) is known for his
Letters to Atticus,
to Brutus,
to friends, and
to his brother.
Seneca the Younger (c. 5 – 65 CE) and
Pliny the Younger (c. 61 – c. 112 CE) both published their own letters. Seneca's
Letters to Lucilius are strongly moralizing. Pliny's
Epistulae have a self-consciously literary style.
Ancient letter collections typically did not organize the letters chronologically.
Early Christianity is also associated with collected and published letters, typically referred to as
epistles for their
didactic focus.
Paul the Apostle
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
(c. 5 – c. 64/67 CE) is known for the
Pauline epistles
The Pauline epistles, also known as Epistles of Paul or Letters of Paul, are the thirteen books of the New Testament attributed to Paul the Apostle, although the authorship of some is in dispute. Among these epistles are some of the earliest extan ...
which make up thirteen books of the
New Testament.
Saint Augustine (354 – 430 CE) and
Saint Jerome
Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is comm ...
(c. 342-347 – 420 CE) also wrote prolific and influential theological letters.
Medieval and Renaissance Europe
Medieval European letter-writers were heavily influenced by Cicero in the development of rhetorical conventions (
''ars dictaminis'') for letter-writing.
Petrarch (1304 – 1374 CE) added a greater level of personal autobiographical detail in his ''
Epistolae familiares''.
Erasmus (1466 –1536 CE) and
Justus Lipsius (1547 – 1606 CE) also promoted flexibility and enjoyable reading in letter-writing, rather than a rule-focused formula.
Eighteenth-century Europe
Published letters and diaries were particularly prominent in eighteenth-century British print, sometimes called "the defining genres of the period".
The letters of
Marie de Rabutin-Chantal (1626 – 1696) and her daughter were published beginning in 1725, and widely regarded across Europe as the model for witty, enjoyable letters.
See also
*
Letter
Letter, letters, or literature may refer to:
Characters typeface
* Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet.
* Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alphabe ...
*
Autobiography
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life.
It is a form of biography.
Definition
The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...
*
Biography
A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...
*
Epistle
*
Epistolography
Epistolography, or the art of writing letters, is a genre of Byzantine literature similar to rhetoric that was popular with the intellectual elite of the Byzantine age."Epistolography" in ''The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium'', Oxford Universit ...
*
Epistolary novel
*
Epistolary poem
Epistolary means "in the form of a letter or letters", and may refer to:
* Epistolary ( la, epistolarium), a Christian liturgical book containing set readings for church services from the New Testament Epistles
* Epistolary novel
* Epistolary po ...
*
Belles-lettres
is a category of writing, originally meaning beautiful or fine writing. In the modern narrow sense, it is a label for literary works that do not fall into the major categories such as fiction, poetry, or drama. The phrase is sometimes used pejora ...
*
List of fictional diaries
This is a list of fictional diaries categorized by type, including fictional works in diary form, diaries appearing in fictional works, and hoax diaries.
The first category, fictional works in diary form, lists fictional works where the story, ...
References
Letters (message)
Non-fiction genres
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