Although he also wrote prose fiction and occasional verse in English, Angel Day has been remembered primarily for The English Secretorie, a manual of instruction in letter writing first published hastily in 1586. Thoroughly revised by 1593--when it was enlarged with a second part and appended treatises on rhetorical figures and the duties of a secretary--the manual was carefully polished for subsequent editions in 1595 and 1599. At least five more editions had appeared by 1635. Twentieth-century scholars have duly noted Day's place in the development of English epistolary rhetoric. Jonathan Goldberg and Richard Rambuss have observed Day's emphasis on the obligation of the Elizabethan secretary to secrecy in conducting the affairs of his employer. Yet, scholars have not shown enough interest in Day's life to penetrate its mysteries. Clues in his works suggest that he used his rhetorical skills not only to instruct others in the duties of a secretary but...