Love Letters: An Illustrated Anthology

by Antonia Fraser

The missives of famous and not-so-famous lovers of every stripe--eloquent expressions of every passion love can unleash--are gathered in a handsomely illustrated collection to charm new ones

Genres: Nonfiction, Classics, History, Romance, Poetry, Historical, Literature

191 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1989

About the author

Antonia Fraser is the author of many widely acclaimed historical works, including the biographies Mary, Queen of Scots (a 40th anniversary edition was published in May 2009), Cromwell: Our Chief of Men, King Charles II and The Gunpowder Plot (CWA Non-Fiction Gold Dagger; St Louis Literary Award). She has written five highly praised books which focus on women in history, The Weaker Vessel: Women's Lot in Seventeenth Century Britain (Wolfson Award for History, 1984), The Warrior Queens: Boadecia's Chariot, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Marie Antoinette: The Journey (Franco-British Literary Prize 2001), which was made into a film by Sofia Coppola in 2006 and most recently Love and Louis XIV: The Women in the Life of the Sun King. She was awarded the Norton Medlicott Medal by the Historical Association in 2000. Antonia Fraser was made DBE in 2011 for her services to literature. Her most recent book is Must You Go?, celebrating her life with Harold Pinter, who died on Christmas Eve 2008. She lives in London.

Reviews

[Gauri · Rating 1 out of 5]

Feeling lonely, I picked up this book, hoping it would fill the void in my soul temporarily, like putting newspaper in drywall. I remembered halfway through the book that I hate flowery language and I'm distrustful of all compliments and declarations of love or appreciation. If a man wrote me a letter like these ones, I'd just frown and stare at him, and maybe tell him to be sincere. These did nothing for me. But, these may be up your alley if you like this kind of stuff. I won't judge. Well, I'll roll my eyes, maybe.

[marie]

i‘m so lonely

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

an interesting peek into the lives of celebrated people through the centuries. A love letter can be very telling....

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Warning: this book will fill you with yearning and possibly raise your standards of romance to impossible heights...

This was such a beautifully curated anthology! The letters were so diverse, ranging from pure to passionate to longing to spiteful, and each provided a tantalizing glimpse into the lives of the lovers concerned. It proves that all the ups and downs of love have been one of humanity's constants, no matter the place or time period -- I love getting to glimpse historical figures as people that I can relate to. I got curious about some of the authors in here and looked up their bios to find out how their relationships turned out--some ended very happily, others did not, which was sad.

I can't adequately sum up the way some of the letters made me feel, so instead please enjoy a small sampling of (some of) my favorite excerpts:

"I look back with the pang of unavailing avarice on my loss in not knowing you sooner." -Robert Burns

"No human being has ever stood so close to my soul as you stand." -James Joyce

"I need all eternity to love you in." -Jill Curse

"All time is worse than lost that's spent where thou art not" -John Hervey

"Love does not lie only in gazing toward each other, but it is looking into our future together with four eyes." -Gopal Puri

Anyway. I highly recommend if you're a hopeless romantic like me, just be prepared to have a lot of feelings...

[Jordan Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Love Letters: An Illustrated Anthology" is a beautiful book. It is filled with letters of historical figures to their partners. The book is split into various sections, such as "Jealousy," "Passion," "Beginnings," "Endings," and so forth.
The book mainly contains notes penned by those in the 1700's - 1800's. Letters between King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn are included, as well as many of my other favorite persons in history. These include Victor Hugo, Stendhal, Napoleon Bonaparte, Catherine of Aragon, Lewis Carroll, and so forth.
The one error that I noticed was that the book said that Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn were married in secret. Not entirely true...
Other than that, flawless.
Gorgeous oil paintings grace every few pages, and the book is one that looks very good on the shelf. A fun read.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Napoleon ends a letter to Josephine: "Until then, mio dolce amore, a thousand kisses; but give me none in return, for they set my blood on fire."

I read this book so long ago, but pieces of it still linger. This is a wonderful book, with some beautiful illustrations.

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that it was a really interesting book and I loved that I could see how love as been with humanity for as long it can remember. I also realized that love and lust were just as heartbreaking then as they are now.

[kae !! · Rating 5 out of 5]

peor momento imposible para leerme esto, me tiro por la ventana- uff lo k me gusta a mí leer de amor !! k antología tan chula y tan bonita <3 yo solo quiero k alguien me escriba este tipo de cosas….. (btw victor hugo me ha hecho dar mortales para atrás, lit sentimos igual, somos la misma persona)

[Aleina · Rating 5 out of 5]

i’m so alone

[Maxwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

i wish oscar wilde would tell me 'its a lovely place; it only lacks you'

[allie · Rating 3 out of 5]

a book for the true hopeless romantics, but my god was this book hard to get through. if you have the patience to read through the mundane part of a bunch of strangers' letters, i applaud you.

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

Way too much incest

[august · Rating 4 out of 5]

reading letters is prob my favorite form of therapy

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, I love you, however love stories rarely end well. Love letters are mostly words of anguish like attempting to contain the fire of the sun their words burn to the heart’s core. The secrets of the sun.

Nicely pulled together and really good fun.

[Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

'If you write as you do, I shall come the seldomer, on purpose to be pleased with your letters, which I never look into without wondering how a brat, who cannot read, can possibly write so well... '

[Abbigale Kernya · Rating 5 out of 5]

The grip this collection has on me is insane