This brief novel was for many years thought to have seen its original publication in Mary Davys’s The Works of Mrs. Davys (1725), although in my edition of three of Davys’s novels, I express my opinion that, based on its references to contemporary events, it must have been composed between 1716 and 1717. In 2023, Hamish John Wood published the news of his discovery of a 1718 publication of the work, with a different title, Love And Friendship Inseparable betwixt Different Sexes, and under a pseudonym, “Little Dick Fisher” (Women’s Writing 30.1). Thus the text is definitely a product of the period 1716-1718, when Davys was living in London and attempting to establish herself as a professional writer.
While most of her work makes adroit use of embedded letters, Familiar Letters Betwixt a Gentleman and a Lady is...
1574 words
Citation: Bowden, Martha F.. "Familiar Letters betwixt a Gentleman and a Lady". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 10 August 2005; last revised 23 May 2025. [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=16840, accessed 05 December 2025.]
