These 288 letters span the period between Montesquieu's return from travelling and the completion of L'Esprit des lois. They evoke the Parisian literary and scientific scene, news of politics and wars, and, of course, Montesquieu's major works. The writer also reveals himself to be an attentive father and shrewd proprietor.

The studies in this collection aim to show how Quevedo's love poetry, whilst drawing from Petrarchist tradition, also features formal study of the sonnet, the emergence of a specific satirical tone, the revival of certain myths or symbolic figures and finally includes amorous tension at the heart of the writing.