Arms and Letters

Arms and Letters is the first study in English dedicated to the literary and cultural analysis of early modern Spanish military autobiographical texts.

Faith S. Harden is an assistant professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University Arizona.

"Harden’s study focuses on specific texts, but her in-depth analysis and conclusions provide new insights into the social, historical, military, religious, cultural, and literary implications of soldier writing in early modern Spain."

Laura Delbrugge, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Clarion University of Pennsylvania:

"Excellently written, Arms and Letters contributes significantly to numerous fields of study including military history, the evolution of autobiographical writing, Spanish early modern society and the role of the military within it, gender roles, and the application of Stephen Greenblatt’s concept of self-fashioning to early modern Spain."

Thomas Devaney, Department of History, University of Rochester:

"Convincing and relevant, Arms and Letters breaks new ground and presents fresh interpretations of gender constructions of the period, including how Spanish soldiers adapted existing genres in order to portray themselves as worthy to write and deserving of reward and honour."