"Only recently -- and miraculously -- has a new cache of material turned up, fragments of 113 letters that many scholars believe Abelard and Heloise exchanged before Abelard's castration. Copied in the 15th century by a monk named Johannes de Vespria, discovered in 1980 by Constant J. Mews and finally published as ‘The Lost Love Letters of Heloise and Abelard,’ these short but eloquent missives present two people vying -- with no coyness or gender typecasting whatever -- to outdo each other in expressions of adoration. 'To a reddening rose under the spotless whiteness of lilies,' the woman addresses the man. 'To his jewel, more pleasing and more splendid than the present light,' the man addresses the woman. The letters have unleashed a new storm of interest in the couple; it is to this that we owe the British filmmaker James Burge's biography, 'Abelard and Heloise.' "--New York Times Book Review

A thorough, sympathetic appraisal of the [letters]. By restoring this magnificent literary dialogue to its rightful place in Latin letters, Mews has performed a signal service not only for scholars of Abelard and Heloise, but for all who love literature.”--The Medieval Review

“Important for medievalists, feminists, and those captivated by the Abelard and Heloise myth; highly recommended.”--Library Journal