Letters to Franca offers an extensive selection from the 500 or so extraordinary letters Louis Althusser addressed to Franca Madonia between 1961 and 1972, the most productive period in Althusser’s life and the time when his most characteristic works were being elaborated and first received. This correspondence allows, therefore, a unique insight into Althusser’s theoretical and political trajectory, giving an intimate account of the establishment of Althusserian Marxism and the intellectual, historical and institutional milieu within which it came to prominence. It also charts the singular story of Althusser’s relationship with Franca, whom he encountered in 1961 and who became his lover, intellectual confidante and Italian translator; the letters thus have a quasi-novelistic dimension and afford a gripping vision of a remarkable couple, the chronicle of a passion. Their correspondence consequently exhibits an exceptionally diverse tonal range, alternately analytical, lyrical, ludic and sombre, displaying an investment in language and expressionbarely suggested by Althusser’s previously published work.

Letters to Franca (1961-1972) PDF

The list of books you might like