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Judith G. Coffin, Sex, Love, and Letters: Writing Simone de Beauvoir, Ithaca, NY, Cornell University Press, 2020, 310 pages, ISBN 9781501750540.Sex, Love, and Letters is a highly engaging book that makes an important contribution to Beauvoir studies. Drawing on an archive of letters written to Beauvoir by her readers, housed in the Bibliothèque nationale de France, historian Judith G. Coffin investigates readers’ receptions of Beauvoir in careful historical context.1 This picture of Beauvoir’s relation to her readers is already a significant addition to the field. Yet Coffin goes beyond this picture by contending that attending to readers’ letters is true to the spirit of Beauvoir’s philosophy, where selves are shaped over time in concrete relation to others. Thus Coffin makes a compelling case that the letters are not only notable historical documents, but also key factors in crafting Beauvoir’s self and work.The book comprises eight chapters in addition to an introduction and conclusion. It is organized generally around the chronological publication of particular works, excepting The Second Sex, with Coffin focusing first on its initial reception and later on its wave of popularity thanks to the feminist movement of the 1960s and 1970s. An exhilarating introduction acquaints readers with the archive
Simone de Beauvoir Studies – Brill
Published: Apr 21, 2022
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