The Paston Letters: A Selection in Modern Spelling (Oxford World's Classics)

By Norman Davis

Book Overview

A collection of letters preserved by the Pastons, a well-to-do Norfolk family, written between around 1420 and 1504. They offer evidence for the language of the time and show the contemporary historical, political and social interests. Three generations of the family appear.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0192836404
• ISBN13: 9780192836403
• Release Date: August 1999
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, Incorporated
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.3" x 0.5" x 5.3"

Customer Reviews

Family life

England on the eve of the modern period was a troubled place, but the Pastons made the most of it, rising from Norfolk farming to national celebrity. Their letters (covering a period from about 1420 to 1503) give a remarkably modern idea of their characters and much fascinating information about daily life, society, commerce and the law. The women as well as the men in the family come over as extremely well informed. This seems to be the only edition in print at the moment. The entire collection was last published in two parts in 1971 and 1976, edited by Norman Davis, but the letters included here have been well selected. The Paston Letters make an eventful and informative read.