In his introduction, Lloyd Strickland proposes that Sophie, Electress of Hanover, and her daughter, Queen Sophie Charlotte of Prussia, found consolation in the idea of divine justice. Too long themselves unfairly dismissed as philosophical lightweights, proper justice may now be given to their views through this edition of their private correspondences with Leibniz. Appearing for the first time in English translation, the philosophical selections cover topics from the nature of substance to universal salvation and evidence the independence of the women’s thought as they defend materialism and challenge Leibniz’s conviction that God created the best possible world. The edition also boasts copious and highly informative editorial notes. It is a most welcome addition to The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe: Toronto series.

Drawn from the Prussian Academy edition of Kant's collected works, these letters make it possible to trace the development of Kant's thought from his earliest worries about the topics discussed in the Critique of Pure Reason to his attempts in later life to meet the objections of his critics and erstwhile disciples.  "Perhaps the major value of these writings is their demonstration of Kant's own attitude towards his philosophical works."—Paul Arthur Schilpp, Saturday Review