Ancient Epistolary Fictions: The Letter in Greek Literature

This book offers the first comprehensive look at the use of imaginary letters in Greek literature from Homer to Philostratus. By imaginary letters, it means letters written in the voice of another, and either inserted into a narrative (epic, historiography, tragedy, the novel), or comprising a free-standing collection (e.g. the Greek love letter collections of the Imperial Roman period). The book challenges the notion that Ovid invented the fictional letter form in the Heroides, and considers a wealth of Greek antecedents for the later European epistolary novel tradition.

Author: Patricia A. Rosenmeyer
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 04/30/2001
Pages: 382
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.40lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.10w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9780521800044

Review Citation(s):
Choice 11/01/2001 pg. 505