Welcome to Life and Letters

How old, on average, were Renaissance—or Romantic or Modernist—writers when they first published their work? Did the demographic transition influence the rise of the bildungsroman? Do writers born in cities write about them differently than urban migrants? How do sex imbalances, like those caused by ancient or medieval infanticide, affect literary plots? Do periods of elite overproduction lead to ornate literary styles?

These are the kinds of questions I’m interested in and plan to write about. Feedback, insights, proposals for guest posts, requests to review or mention your book or article are all very welcome. I’m a scholar of Renaissance literature, so there will be plenty of Donne and Shakespeare, but I’m envisioning wider horizons.

I also need a place to share the bizarre anecdotes I’ve encountered in the course of researching the lives of 600 Renaissance writers, so there will also be stories about why Edward Herbert got married at 17, how William Wycherley willed away his fortune, and many more.