Decoding the Alice Alington-Margaret More Roper Letters

Interpreting the letters characterized as written by Alice Alington and Margaret Roper in 1534 has proved perplexing since their first publication (1557), when the editor wrote, “It is not certainly known” whether Thomas More or Roper wrote the letter to Alington. Did Roper, More, or both write it? This study looks at both letters from a variety of perspectives, pointing out many reasons that complicate reading them before focusing on the personal and political circumstances, the structural knot of wise/foolish, and the writing styles of father and daughter, including an analysis of Roper's known writing, characteristically empathic (rather than concerned with organization or structure). It agrees that More was the chief writer, but that Roper might well have written some, though not all, of her speeches, and that she was involved in their discussions and as More's personal representative. Finally, it suggests both letters constitute a mini-dialogue

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