Distributed for Iter Press
Letters to Her Sons, 1447–1470
The seventy-three surviving letters written by Florentine widow, Alessandra Macinghi Strozzi (c.1406–1471), to her distant sons first appeared in print well over a century ago, but are here translated into English in their entirety for the first time. Whether for the professional historian or for the general reader interested in Renaissance Florence, they constitute a most precious testimony regarding both private and public life in the mid-fifteenth century, with themes ranging from familial relations, motherhood, marriage, and aspects of material culture to the harsh realities of political exile meted out by the Medici to their perceived opponents, these latter including her husband and, subsequently, her sons.
294 pages | 12 | 6 x 9 | © 2016
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Reviews
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. The Other Voice 1
2. The Life of Alessandra Macinghi Strozzi: The Intersection of
Private and Public Domains 6
3. Alessandra and the Genre of the Familiar Letter 16
4. Writing as a Mother 18
5. The Afterlife of the Letters 23
6. A Note on the Translation and Edition 25
Alessandra Macinghi Strozzi: Letters to Her Sons 29
Abbreviations 245
Weights and Measures 246
Currency 247
Times of Day 248
Florentine Dating 248
Bibliography 249
Index 269