Letterwriting in Renaissance England reproduces in full size and transcribes a number of letters from the early sixteenth to the early eighteenth centuries. Both a sourcebook for scholars and a treasure trove for the general reader, the book includes sections on love letters, secret letters, letterwriting manuals, and on the tools required to write letters. It describes the beginnings of the postal service in England and introduces a consistent terminology for describing Renaissance letters and their various parts.

The letters of this collection speak for themselves. They are funnier, richer, more bizarre, and more moving than anything the fiction of the period has to offer, and lead to a more convincing picture of everyday life in early modern England.