Often, human affects are either provoked or mitigated more amply by examples than by words. Therefore, after some comfort through discussion held in your presence, a letter of consolation about the same experiences of my own misfortunes, I decided to write to the absent; so that, in comparison to mine, your trials, you should recognize, are either nothing, or slight, and you’ll bear them more tolerably. The enduring love story of Abelard and Heloise, captured in their famed series of letters from the twelfth century, has been a favorite topic for scholars since it was published and first printed in 1615. But in his revelatory debut, Abelard-Heloise Correspondence, author Roland Denise Oberson sheds a new—and shocking—light on this beloved literary monument of Western civilization. This first literal English translation of Heloise and Abelard’s letters to each other allows Oberson to reveal a radically different account of the events that took place between these two academics. Through painstaking study of more than fifteen years, the author has translated the love letters of their correspondence word for word. What he discovered runs in complete opposition to the prevailing opinion that Heloise and Abelard had an illicit sexual liaison that resulted in an illegitimate child, which eventually led them to enter the regular monastic life. Instead Oberson reveals that the Latin text, so often not indisputably translated, is not a collection of love letters but a clandestine account of what actually happened and a study in redemption. Heloise was actually a young teen when she was raped by a tutor, should the occasion arise, her “uncle”, resulting in the birth of a bastard, Astrolabius, whom previous texts identified as having been fathered by Abelard. The series of letters, thus translated, acts as a testimony to the enduring friendship and “castrated” love between two true friends. Abelard was in actuality a dedicated monk, determined to help his injured friend through her pain and suffering. Their correspondence highlights the wisdom and peace that each gained from both their time in the church and their relationship with each other. Oberson’s literal translation of the text demonstrates the difficulties that exist in reading and interpreting what was essentially a clandestine and someway a self-deprecating text. Care must be taken when handling such an important text, both by the translator, who must not betray the words on the page, and by the reader, who must practice mindful examination. Abelard-Heloise Correspondence is the author’s rebuttal to one of the biggest mistakes of literary history in its depiction of Abelard and Heloise’s relationship. Anyone whose life has been touched by the epic story of Abelard and Heloise will find Oberson’s debut a must read. It is a historical update to a long-beloved story, an update that will set right the many faulty interpretations that have endured for so many years. The words of these lifelong friends find a new richness and life in Oberson’s literal translation, which proves to be second to none. Roland Denise Oberson’s academic studies include human sciences, medicine, languages, and philosophy. Due to such an extensive and varied background, the story of Heloise and Abelard proved particularly interesting to the author. He therefore set out to correct the misinterpretation of a largely misunderstood text.