William E. French is an associate professor of history at the University of British Columbia. He is the author of A Peaceful and Working People: Manners, Morals, and Class Formation in Northern Mexico and the coeditor of Gender, Sexuality, and Power in Latin America since Independence.

“Gracefully written, convincingly argued, and accessible to nonspecialists, this book is equally well suited to graduate seminars and undergraduate courses in Mexican history as well as specialized history and/or theory courses on love, courtship, gender relations, and the written word.”-Robert M. Buffington, The Historian "Surprising, intriguing, and sophisticated. . . . This is masterful scholarship with an undercurrent of playfulness."—William H. Beezley, coeditor of The Oxford History of Mexico"This is a deeply learned book, the mature work of a widely read, accomplished, and innovative historian."—Ann S. Blum, author of Domestic Economies: Family, Work, and Welfare in Mexico City, 1884–1943

• Heading (Acknowledgments)Introduction: The Heart in the Glass Jar  Section 1: The Letter of the LawSection 2: The Lettered Countryside  Section 3: The Body of the Letter  PostscriptNotesBibliographyIndex

William E. French is an associate professor of history at the University of British Columbia. He is the author of A Peaceful and Working People: Manners, Morals, and Class Formation in Northern Mexico and the coeditor of Gender, Sexuality, and Power in Latin America since Independence.

“Gracefully written, convincingly argued, and accessible to nonspecialists, this book is equally well suited to graduate seminars and undergraduate courses in Mexican history as well as specialized history and/or theory courses on love, courtship, gender relations, and the written word.”-Robert M. Buffington, The Historian "Surprising, intriguing, and sophisticated. . . . This is masterful scholarship with an undercurrent of playfulness."—William H. Beezley, coeditor of The Oxford History of Mexico"This is a deeply learned book, the mature work of a widely read, accomplished, and innovative historian."—Ann S. Blum, author of Domestic Economies: Family, Work, and Welfare in Mexico City, 1884–1943

• Heading (Acknowledgments)Introduction: The Heart in the Glass Jar  Section 1: The Letter of the LawSection 2: The Lettered Countryside  Section 3: The Body of the Letter  PostscriptNotesBibliographyIndex

William E. French is an associate professor of history at the University of British Columbia. He is the author of A Peaceful and Working People: Manners, Morals, and Class Formation in Northern Mexico and the coeditor of Gender, Sexuality, and Power in Latin America since Independence.

“Gracefully written, convincingly argued, and accessible to nonspecialists, this book is equally well suited to graduate seminars and undergraduate courses in Mexican history as well as specialized history and/or theory courses on love, courtship, gender relations, and the written word.”-Robert M. Buffington, The Historian "Surprising, intriguing, and sophisticated. . . . This is masterful scholarship with an undercurrent of playfulness."—William H. Beezley, coeditor of The Oxford History of Mexico"This is a deeply learned book, the mature work of a widely read, accomplished, and innovative historian."—Ann S. Blum, author of Domestic Economies: Family, Work, and Welfare in Mexico City, 1884–1943

• Heading (Acknowledgments)Introduction: The Heart in the Glass Jar  Section 1: The Letter of the LawSection 2: The Lettered Countryside  Section 3: The Body of the Letter  PostscriptNotesBibliographyIndex