Letters as a Form of Feminist Literature: 800 Years of Women's Letters with Olga Kenyon

I write a lot of book reviews. Anybody can read a book and discuss it afterwards. There are the more obvious, basic entertainment elements like strength of story. Then there are the more highbrow, literary elements to consider, such as the author's style, use of imagery, and themes. An anthology, though, is a different breed. How do you review a book that is written by not one, but many authors, each with their own unique style? In this instance, how do I review a book that is a compilation of letters in different styles, written in different countries and time periods, for a multitude of very different purposes?

800 Years of Women's Letters, edited by Olga Kenyon, is a unique book. There are, of course, publications available with copies of letters by famous women, such as Elizabeth I. This, however, is the only compilation I know of that includes exclusively women's letters, and covers such a breadth of examples. There are, in my opinion, only two ways to judge this book. The first is to decide whether we enjoy and/or benefit from it, and the second is to see whether the anthology accomplishes the scholarly goals that Kenyon sets out in the Introduction.

To answer the first criteria quite simply, I enjoyed it. It was an interesting read. At times the letters were funny, at times tragic, at times romantic. Some of the women I really identified with, and I enjoyed reading their letters. I was greeted by letters from "old friends", women I was familiar with through history classes or other readings.

I also encountered some new names, and got to know these women across time and space as I read the letters they had written to someone else. In a way I felt as though I was invading their privacy, and I hope they forgive the impertinence. It was easy to read because the letters naturally divide up the text, so that it is easy to pick and put down the book. If you find a letter or section that doesn't interest you, it is easy to skip ahead without disrupting the narrative.