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Miscellaneous John Donne's Marriage Letters in the Folger Shakespeare Library Edited by M. Thomas Hester, el al. $35 / PUBL / 2005 John Donne was on his way to a brilliant career in diplomacy when, in 1598, at the age of 26, he was appointed as private secretary to Sir Thomas Egerton, Keeper of the Great Seal. But his secret marriage in 1601 to Egerton’s 17-year-old niece Anne More, resulted in his dismissal from this position and a brief imprisonment. Donne’s biographer Izaak Walton called the elopement “the remarkable error of his life.” It certainly altered the trajectory of his career, even though he was a devoted husband until Anne’s death in 1617. A companion book to Letterwriting in Renaissance England, John Donne’s Marriage Letters considers the physical tasks inherent in the execution of the letters from Donne to his father-in-law Sir George More, and to Donne’s employer Egerton, the lord keeper. Each letter is transcribed as it was originally written, with all its misspellings and poor grammar, preceded with a description of who delivered it, the timing and consequences of its delivery, and the matter each letter addresses. This is followed by actual reproductions of the letters themselves. In all, 18 letters are reproduced, starting with the letter Donne wrote in 1602 to his father-in-law Sir George More, a sometimes insolent letter informing him of his elopement with More’s daughter. Another eight letters to More and Sir Thomas Egerton, all written within a month of the first letter, are also included. They conclude with one Donne wrote to his father-in-law a dozen years after Anne’s death, humbly requesting money. Like its companion book on letter-writing, this book should be interesting to both the serious scholar and the casual browser, as it contains facsimiles of these fascinating letters (revealing inkblots, signatures, folds, and stains), as well as a discussion on the intimate issues the letters involved, casting a revealing light on the great renaissance poet and the timeless tale of star-crossed lovers and a controversial marriage. — Charles Rammelkamp

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