'… this book is to be welcomed for its ambitious contribution to the history of political writing in the century before the great Ricardian poets.' The Review of English Studies

'David Matthews's new book constitutes an important and stimulating contribution to and extension of the burgeoning scholarship on the literary manifestations of a 'public sphere' in high and late medieval England … Matthews has given us a monograph of uncommon erudition, insight, and acumen. Writing to the King represents an important step forward in the understanding of English political thought as reflected through the literary artifacts of the later Middle Ages. All scholars - whether of a literary or historical bent - interested in the complex interplay between writing and politics in medieval England are in his deepest debt.' Cary J. Nederman, Modern Philology

'Writing to the King is a valuable contribution, challenging the usual periodizations, and constructing a coherent narrative of ideological development over the century, across some interesting writings which have hitherto suffered from relative neglect.' Laura Ashe, Medium Aevum