Nine essays by literature academics focusing on 17th to 20th-century Anglo-American texts engage the relationship between epistolary texts and discourses of gender, class, politics, and commodification. Topics include epistolary histories of Mary Queen of Scots, Turkish travelogues, the making of the modern middle class, the correspondence of Melville and Hawthorne, and new epistolary innovators such as Kathy Acker and Orlan. Every essay is followed by a postscript in which one of the other contributors provides feedback for the essay. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)