Editing and Introduction by Brooklynn Thomason, Cheryl Kurz-Young, Danna Rodrigeuz, and Gracelyn Hobbs
Brooklynn Thomason, Cheryl Kurz-Young, Danna Rodriguez and Gracelyn Hobbs are undergraduate students at the Univeristy of Central Arkansas
Letters of Love and Gallantry was written in 1693 by Catherine Trotter and is one of the first English epistolary pieces of literature. Epistolary literature is when stories are told through letters instead of a consistent narrative. During the time period that Trotter wrote this literary piece, terms like chivalry and courtship were used often to determine society’s priorities of that time. The mannerisms of both men and women were emphasized much more than they are now, especially in the way that the two sexes expressed affections. What makes Letters of Love and Gallantry so special is that it signifies the caution of a young lady as she navigates and sifts through several suitors in her life. She is self-aware and wise in protecting herself from certain men who pose as gentlemen but are not in fact gentlemen. Another aspect of this piece that stands out is that Olinda (the main character) reflects on realistic encounters of love that she has had instead of romanticized and exaggerated accounts of interactions with men that are often fantasized within French culture. In actuality, Olinda reveals her fatherless background and her mother’s needy pursuits of having Olinda married off for success. This detail about Olinda’s life paints a picture of the realities that women faced during that time period. Olinda’s accounts and her story envision a real heroine, a woman who doesn’t easily fall prey to the vain pursuits of malicious men and shows a woman who stands her ground in her decisions about her love-life.
Letters of Love and Gallantry even goes as far as to poke fun at social statuses and the importance they play in marriage. Olinda’s character waves away the idea of simply marrying someone off of their status, and her carelessness shows the superficiality of society’s expectations of that time. Furthermore, Trotter wrote this as a fatherless woman herself, her father dying while he served in the Navy. Along with this, Trotter was only fourteen years old when she wrote this literary piece. There is a lot of speculation as to whether Letters of Love and Gallantry is a “romanticized” autobiography as a lot of Trotter’s personal life relates to Olinda’s life within the story.
Editorial Note
In Letters of Love and Gallantry: The Adventures of a Young Lady, we preserved the overall tone, structure, and reflection of the narration while making smart, careful modernizations to improve how you read it and understand present-day language. The original language was written in 1693, so some words and spellings are not used today. We changed those parts to modern English, but make sure the letter still sounds old fashioned like the time it was written. We kept the main ideas, emotions, and tone because they show Olinda’s struggles between love and self control. We also changed some punctuation to make the sentences clearer and smoother to read. Our goal was to make the letter understandable for modern readers while keeping the author’s original style and message.
Sources
Oxford University Press. (n.d). Retrieved December 4, 2025, from https:?-//doi.org/10.1093/8344396184