| Sumario: | The question of whether or not Aphra Behn wrote Love-Letters Between a Nobleman and his Sister (1684–7) is still very much open to debate. Whilst this article will neither confirm nor deny her authorship of this multi-part work, it explores the revealing contrast between the unnamed author of Love-Letters and the publishers whose names appeared in imprints for new editions. They include (but are not limited to) Joseph Hindmarsh, who entered Part I into the Stationers' Register in 1683, as well as Jacob Tonson, who was yet to make his name as an influential Whig bookseller when his name first appeared in conjunction with the second edition of 1693. This article also examines what the appearance of "Love-Letters by Lord Grey" in a 1718 sales catalogue for bookseller copies reveals about the seeming unimportance of Behn's authorship of the work in the period. It argues that paying closer attention to imprint changes and sales catalogue labels can transform our understanding of what contemporary readers knew about the authorship and production of Love-Letters as a popular work that was often reprinted and repackaged long after the three parts first appeared in print.
|