Letters from a Portuguese Nun
Andoversford: The Whittington Press, 1986. Richard Kennedy. First, Limited Edition. Quarto, 11 x 9 inches (280 x 230 mm); 49 pp. Line-block reproductions of eleven drawings by Richard Kennedy.
Machine-set in 14-point Cochin and printed in black and purple ink on white laid mould-made paper. Bound by Woolnough in light purple Hahnemühle laid paper-covered boards, printed spine titling, frontispiece drawing repeated on the front. Headbands, top edge purple. Cream Ingres endpapers. Black Ingres paper-covered slipcase.
One of 235 copies printed, signed by Olive M. Kennedy and Richard Kennedy on the limitation page.
[Butcher 84].
A striking and intimate Whittington Press edition of this classic sequence of seventeenth-century love letters, presented here in a new translation by Olive M. Kennedy. The text—traditionally attributed to Mariana Alcoforado, a Portuguese nun writing to her absent French lover—retains its enduring power as an expression of passion, longing, and emotional intensity. Richard Kennedy’s expressive line drawings provide a sensitive visual counterpart, enhancing the atmosphere without overpowering the spare eloquence of the prose. The choice of Cochin type and the restrained use of black and purple ink lend the book a refined elegance, while the harmonious binding in Hahnemühle paper-covered boards reflects the press’s attention to aesthetic unity.
Mariana Alcoforado (1640–1723), traditionally identified as the author of the Letters, was a Portuguese nun at the Convent of Nossa Senhora da Conceição in Beja. Although scholarly debate continues over the authorship—some attributing the letters to the French writer Gabriel de Guilleragues—the figure of the passionate nun has remained central to the work’s enduring appeal. First published in Paris in 1669, the letters quickly gained international fame for their intense emotional candor and are now regarded as a classic of early modern epistolary literature.
Richard Kennedy (1915–1989) was a British illustrator and artist known for his distinctive line work and contributions to fine press books. He collaborated frequently with the Whittington Press, producing illustrations that combine clarity of line with a strong sense of narrative atmosphere. His work spans children’s books, literary illustration, and private press editions, and he is remembered as a significant figure in twentieth-century British book illustration.
Condition: Fine.
Item number: 2405
Price: $100.00
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