Persian Letters

Persian Letters (Lettres Persanes in French) is a literary work often termed one of the first epistolary novels. It was written by Charles de Secondat, a social thinker and political philosopher more commonly known by his aristocratic title Montesquieu. The narrative follows Usbek and Rica, two noblemen from Persia, who travel to France and recount their experiences there. The novel was first published anonymously in 1721 in Amsterdam for fear of public repercussions. Today it remains one of the Enlightenment’s most significant novels. It not only helped establish the epistolary novel as a new literary form but also contributed to the transition from the Middle Ages into the modern era of free thought and intellectual pursuit.

Montesquieu remains one of the most influential philosophers of that era, which is known for its academic, theoretical, and humanistic interest in individualism, reason, and skepticism as the healthy alternative to unquestioned belief. His other major works include Considerations on the Causes of the Greatness of the Romans and their Decline (1734) and The Spirit of the Laws (1748).

The first edition of Persian Letters consists of 150 letters (edition A), but that same year a second edition came out containing three additional letters but omitting 13 from the first printing.