The Journal to Stella

An order for a green silk apron shares space with worries about the Lord Treasurer in Jonathan Swift's letters to Esther Johnson. Writing from London, Swift moves between government offices, visits, rainy walks and meals with friends. Reports of peace negotiations sit beside complaints about missed dinners and his own health. These abrupt shifts give the correspondence its daily rhythm, with public affairs continually entering an intimate conversation.

George A. Aitken's introduction and notes supply background on Johnson, Swift's early career and the many people named in the letters. His preface also explains how earlier editors altered the correspondence and how manuscript comparisons helped recover its distinctive language. Readers interested in letters as a literary form will find both Swift's playful private voice and the editorial problems involved in preserving it. The volume offers a close view of friendship sustained through the ordinary details of a busy life.