The Paston Women: Selected Letters

Library of Medieval Women

by Diane Watt (Editor)

The Paston letters viewed in the context of medieval women's writing and medieval letter writing.

The Paston letters form one of only two surviving collections of fifteenth-century correspondence, in their case especially rich in letters from the women of the family. Clandestine love affairs, secret marriages, violent family rows, bickering with neighbours, battles and sieges, threats of murder and kidnapping, fears of plague: these are just some of the topics discussed in the letters of the Paston women.
Diane Watt's introduction seeks to place these letters in the context of medieval women's writing and and medieval letter writing. Her interpretive essay reconstructs the lives of these women by examining what the letters reveal about women's literacy and education, lifein the medieval household, religion and piety, health and medicine, and love, marriage, family relationships, and female friendships in the middle ages.

Professor Diane Watt is Head of the School of English and Languages, University of Surrey.

Genres: Nonfiction

190 pages, Paperback

First published November 25, 2004

Reviews

[Aubree Chavez-Gregory · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for Engl 730. lol

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this quite illuminating. I did not realize the extent to which women had autonomy when their husbands were away from the home, which was most of the time. Also, the difficulties experienced by the English people during the War of the Roses when lawlessness, land grabbing and politics made daily living very tenuous. Glad I invested the time on this one.

[Conner Crawford]

Provides excellent first-hand insight into the lives, responsibilities, and characteristics of upper-class medieval women; a solid collection