Letters from a Peruvian Woman (Texts & Translations) - Softcover

Francoise De Graffigny

Softcover

ISBN 10: 087352778X ISBN 13: 9780873527781

Publisher: Modern Language Association of America, 1993

Synopsis

One of the most popular works of the eighteenth century, Lettres d'une Péruvienne appeared in more than 130 editions, reprints, and translations during the hundred years following its publi cation in 1747. In the novel the Inca princess Zilia is kidnapped by Spanish conquerors, captured by the French after a battle at sea, and taken to Europe. Graffigny's brilliant novel offered a bold critique of French society, delivered one of the most vehement feminist protests in eighteenth-century literature, and announced―fourteen years before Rousseau's Julie, or the New Eloise―the Romantic tradition in French literature.

About this title

About the Author

David Kornacker has been Senior Vice President at Bert Davis Executive Search since 1998. He has worked with senior executives and publishing professionals in areas ranging from product development, marketing and sales to finance, operations and technology. Prior to joining Bert Davis, David was President of The French Publishers' Agency, a New York based literary agency that represents most of France's major publishers in the U.S. market. David is a graduate of Columbia College and holds an M.F.A. in Literary Translation from the University of Iowa.

Reviews

This 18th-century novel turns the concept of "savage" on its head in a scathing--and feminist--critique of French society. It comes in the words of a Peruvian princess, Zilia, who has fallen into French hands after being captured by the Spanish. Zilia's letters of love and longing to Aza, the Inca prince she was to have married, shift focus as she is initiated into French language and culture by Deterville, a devoted young nobleman. She portrays the "barbaric" French nobility as effete hypocrites who value politeness and wealth over virtue and who raise their daughters to be ornaments ("It is based on their more or less painfully constricted bearing . . . that parents glory in having raised them well"). The questions of whether Zilia will be reunited with Aza and the fate of Deterville, who loves Zilia, sustain dramatic interest through this lengthy, if astute, portrait. In the end Graffigny portrays a woman of true nobility and courage who must recover her faith in life in the wake of exile and betrayal. Graffigny was a noblewoman who supported herself through her writing; her tale is a worthy restoration to the canon of women's literature.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Modern Language Association of America
• Publication date: 1993
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 087352778X
• ISBN 13: 9780873527781
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 174