Art. 17. Scelta di Lettere familiari, degli Autori pieù Celebri &c.
author: Elizabeth Moody
source date: November 1800

Elizabeth Moody Art. 17. Scelta di Lettere familiari, degli Autori pieù Celebri, &c. A Collection of familiar Letters, by the most celebrated Authors; for the Use of Students in the Italian Language: with Accents, to mark the Pronunciation of all the doubtful Words. By Leonardo Nardini. 12mo. pp. 264. 3s. Dulau and Co. 1800. [This book review originally appeared in the Monthly Review , Vol. 33, second series, November 1800, pp. 309-310. Benjamin Nangle identifies Elizabeth Moody as the author of this review from an editor's marked copy of The Monthly Review . See Nangle, The Montly Review, Second Series, 1790-1815: Indexes of Contributors and Articles , Clarendon Press, 1955. Mary A. Waters and Zachary Parker edited this essay for The Criticism Archive.]

The English public have given considerable encouragement to this method of book-making; and, to say the truth, when selections are conducted with judgement and taste, they cannot fail of being accept- able. They bring together, within a narrow compass, interesting pieces which are generally scattered through many volumes, and afford considerable entertainment at a very moderate price;—no trifling recommendation in these hard times. To the compiler of this little volume of Italian Letters, the praise of judicious discrimination is due; and his collection will be thankfully received by the Italian student who wishes to improve, and to write this elegant language with facility and correctness. Algarotti—Bembo—Bentivoglio—Boccalini—Castiglione—Caro—Fabri—Galileo— Ganganelli—Guarini—Lambertini— Machiavelli—Mascardi—Metastasio— Redi—Tasso—Tolomei—Zanotti, and others, are here laid under contribution; and, when drawing from such rich and various sources, it is no great compliment to the editor to say that this volume is both amusing and instructive. A letter from Ganganelli to a friend, on the subject of travelling in Italy, peculiarly merits those epithets on account of its style, its method of detail, and its reflections.

The accentuation of doubtful words will prove of great use to those who study the Italian language without a preceptor.