The Letters of Dorothy Moore, 1612-64: The Friendships, Marriage, and Intellectual Life of a Seventeenth-century Woman

Dorothy Moore (born circa 1612, died circa 1664), wrote a considerable number of letters on intellectual, political and domestic matters, many of which are presented in this edition. The topics on which she wrote extensively include education, religion, politics - and most of all, the position of women. The letters are interesting primarily for the light they shed on the life of a independent woman of modest means yet considerable social contacts, during the Commonwealth period. the reader of the letters grasp their context in Moore's life, and also details and analyses the rhetorical skills she used. It also discusses the letters in the light of Moore's spiritual and intellectual development, attempting to give a feel for the way that her radical Christianity infused every element of her understanding from science, to education, to politics, to friendship. bibliography of related texts, and the letters in chronological order with background names and places footnoted in some detail.