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Does anyone know the proper way to cite a private letter printed in an anthology when using MLA? For example, I need to cite the letters from Queen Victoria to her daughter, Princess Fredrick William. I have a basic setup, but I'm unsure if this is correct. This is what I have:

Victoria I, Queen of England. “Letter to Princess Fredrick William.” 24 Mar. 1858. The Longman Anthology of British Literature. Ed. David Damrosch and Kevin J. H. Dettmar. 4th ed. New York: Pearson and Longman, 2010. 1548. Print.

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  • Queen Victoria's eldest daughter married Prince Fredrick William, but the princess' name was still Victoria. How odd that they would use his name instead.
    – Ian MacDonald
    Mar 17, 2015 at 13:38
  • I agree but it is how it's titled in my anthology. I think the letter is a reprint of the original letter printed in a different collection.
    – Eleanor
    Mar 17, 2015 at 13:49
  • Strange, but it happened... at worldcat you can buy one of her letters: Sending thanks from Her Royal Highness the Princess Frederick William of Prussia, Princess Royal (i.e., Victoria) for obtaining "so elegant a copy of the Frozen Deep," and asking him to send further thanks to Collins. It's probably not much different from Mr. and Mrs. John Smith.
    – oerkelens
    Mar 17, 2015 at 14:06
  • Which style do you use? APA, MLA, ...?
    – user5645
    Mar 18, 2015 at 9:42
  • 1
    I need to use MLA.
    – Eleanor
    Mar 19, 2015 at 11:00

1 Answer 1

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First, note that as of MLA 8 there is a basic way to cite any source. It goes as follows:

Author. Title of source. Title of container, Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location.

If you can't find a way to cite a source, simply follow that basic outline. For info on it, check here.

I managed to find the way on how to cite a letter in MLA:

Cite a published letter the same way as a work in an anthology. After the name of the author, include any title the editor gives the letter and the date. Add the page numbers for the letter at the end of the citation.

Example

Bishop, Elizabeth. "To Robert Lowell." 26 Nov. 1951. One Art: Letters. Ed. Robert Giroux. New York: Farrar, 1994. 224-26.

See here for that example and the anthology section here for how to cite anthologies.

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