The Opened Letter

The purpose of Lindsey O’Neill’s book is to elucidate the networks of correspondence that spanned the Atlantic Ocean, that is to say the British World, during the latter part of the early modern period (c.1650–c.1750). To achieve this, the author tackles distinct themes within each of the six chapters: ‘The Perils of the Post Office’; ‘Mapping the Epistolary World’; ‘Networking in the Epistolary World’; ‘Nurturing the Epistolary World’; ‘New Networks and Letters Less Familiar’; ‘Stirring News and the Role of the Letter’. Chapter One addresses the shortcomings of the early modern postal service. The main thrust of this analysis is to present the primacy of London within government-run systems of letter distribution. The basic tenet that the author successfully illustrates is that ‘the further one travelled from the postal center of London the more important informal means of exchange became’ (p. 21). Thus, for the inhabitants of the capital, systems of conveyance such as the Penny Post ensured relative ease in communication. Likewise, those living provincially along the main highways benefited from a reasonably effective post-horse relay service to and from the capital. By contrast, individuals living remotely or overseas had to rely on friends, servants, carriers, shipmasters and the like to convey their epistles on an ad hoc, unregulated basis

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