Philip Dormer Stanhope, Letters To His Son

Christopher Mayo (Adelphi University)
Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Report an Error
Letters to his Son

includes over 400* letters written by Philip Dormer Stanhope, fourth earl of Chesterfield, to his illegitimate son, Philip Stanhope (1732-1768), between the years of 1737 or 1738 and 1768, the year of his son’s death. Chesterfield’s early letters to his son – written in French, English, and, occasionally, Latin – largely focus on instructing his son in geography, history, and classical literature. The late letters, written when Philip had an established career as a minor diplomat, deal principally with political matters. Those written in between, from 1746 to 1754, comprise the bulk of

Letters to his Son

, and include the great majority of Chesterfield’s most famous – and most notorious – letters. These are almost exclusively dedicated to a single aim:…

1084 words

Citation: Mayo, Christopher. "Letters To His Son". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 25 February 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=21002, accessed 19 March 2024.]

21002 Letters To His Son 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.