Persian Letters

'Oh! Monsieur is Persian? That's most extraordinary! How can someone be Persian?'Two Persian travellers, Usbek and Rica, arrive in Paris just before the death of Louis XIV and in time to witness the hedonism and financial crash of the Regency. In their letters home they report on visits to the theatre and scientific societies, and observe the manners and flirtations of polite society, the structures of power and the hypocrisy of religion. Irony and bitter satire mark their comparison of East and West and their quest for understanding. Unsettling news from Persia concerning the female world of the harem intrudes on their new identities and provides a suspenseful plot of erotic jealousy and passion.This pioneering epistolary novel and work of travel-writing opened the world of the West to its oriental visitors and the Orient to its Western readers. This is the first English translation based on the original text, revealing this lively work as Montesquieu first intended. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Product details

• Authors: Margaret Mauldon, Montesquieu, Charles De Secondat Montesquieu
• Assisted by: Andrew Kahn (Editor), Andrew (Fellow and Tutor in Russian Kahn (Editor), Kahn Andrew (Editor), Margaret (Freelance translator) Mauldon (Translation), Mauldon Margaret (Translation)
• Publisher: Oxford University Press Trade
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback
• Released: 17.04.2008
• EAN: 9780192806352
• ISBN: 978-0-19-280635-2
• Dimensions: 103 mm x 197 mm x 22 mm
• Series: Oxford World's Classics; World's classics
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature; TRAVEL / Essays & Travelogues, FICTION / Classics, Classic fiction (pre c 1945), 18th century, c 1700 to c 1799, Literary studies: general, Literary studies: c 1500 to c 1800, Literary studies: fiction, novelists & prose writers, Literary studies: fiction, novelists and prose writers, Literary studies: c 1600 to c 1800, Classic Travel Writing, Classic fiction: general and literary, LITERARY CRITICISM / Novel as Form