Fumaroli is a professor emeritus at the Collège de France and a member of the British Academy, the Académie française, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Société d’histoire littéraire de la France. Vergnaud is an editor and literary translator who has translated works from the French by authors such as Mohand Fellag, Joy Sorman, Marie-Monique Robin, and Scholastique Mukasonga.

An interesting history of the flow of ideas through Europe from the 15th to the 18th Century. The letters were a source of exchanging ideas in the time when communications across distances were very primitive. Examining the writings of Petrarch, Erasmus, Descartes, Montaigne, and others Fumaroli creates the web of exchange. The idea of mass-produced journals was still a long way away. Also, the ideas exchanged may not be readily accepted by those in power. Humanism versus the clergy would extend into the 18th century. Index Librorum Prohibitorum was a list of banned books from the Roman Church. The Spanish Inquisition did not officially end until 1834. Too public of exchange of ideas could bring serious consequences.

An interesting study of the flow of intellectual history in Europe. The spread of ideas from Rennesance Italy throughout Europe. The moral and social questions that became the modern Western world are captured in their earliest stages. The Republic of Letters was an unofficial university for a state without a state. A complex book and not for those looking for an easy read.