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Writing a letter can be an act of confession or celebration, while receiving one can bring joy, insight and vivid memories. Ambassadors for correspondence Marieke Hardy and Michaela McGuire have lured some of our best and brightest to the literary afternoons of Women of Letters to write and read missives of all kinds.

Bestselling novelist Hannah Kent exchanges letters about books, editing and synchronicity with her publisher Alex Craig.

Intimate and outrageous declarations of love and friendship are shared between actor Rhys Muldoon and musician Kram.

And award-winning cartoonist First Dog on the Moon expresses his affection for his editor Sophie Black through drawings (while she sticks to the written word).

Between Us is an inspiring and engaging collection of all-new letters from some of Australia's best-loved people.

368 pages, Paperback

First published November 19, 2014

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About the author

Marieke Hardy

11 books129 followers
Marieke Josephine Hardy is a screenwriter, author, blogger, radio presenter, and part-time mud wrestler. She is a little bit taller than Uncanny X-Men lead singer Brian Mannix, though doesn’t fill out a pair of leather trousers nearly as neatly.

She makes host Jennifer Byrne’s life an abject misery once a month on the ABC’s The Book Club. A collection of her essays, You’ll Be Sorry When I’m Dead, was released in August.

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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
Profile Image for Shelleyrae at Book'd Out.
2,616 reviews559 followers
November 25, 2014

To the Women (and men) of Letters,

Having enjoyed your second and third publications, Sincerely and Yours Truly, arising from the literary stage show conceived by Marieke Hardy and Michaela McGuire, I was delighted for the opportunity to read this fifth curated collected, titled Between Us.

As with your previous books, I am pleased to see correspondence from such an eclectic group of female and male contributors, 55 altogether, including radio personality Chrissie Swan, news anchor Tracey Spicer, authors Hannah Kent and Peter Goldsworthy, comedian Steady Eddy, political cartoonist Andrew Marlton, and actor Jeremy Lindsay Taylor. There were a few names I didn't recognise, and though helpfully you provide a brief bio of each at the back of the book, I would still prefer the information included at the end of each letter.

What I particularly like about the Letter's collection is the way in which they make me think about how I would respond to the topics. What would I tell my eighty year old self? What is the thing I dream of? What is the thing I'd like to avoid, and which person would I credit with teaching me what I need to know? I especially enjoyed the paired letters, written 'to my other half'.

I enjoy the way in which the tone of the letters veer from the poignant and contemplative to the whimsical and droll. It ensures the collection holds my interest and makes for a comfortable read through, though it would also be easy for a reader to dip in and out of at will.

Just between us, I have enjoyed the time I spent with this celebration of the lost art of letter writing and its collection of 'wit and wisdom'.

Thank you, women (and men) of letters for sharing with me.
Profile Image for Steve lovell.
335 reviews18 followers
July 1, 2015
This fourth compilation of epistles in the 'Women of Letters' franchise (the editors may well hate that term) is now not only an Australian phenomenon, but is spreading its wings internationally as well. Hardy and McGuire sold out NYC, which now has monthly performances, with a tour of their concept also completed of the UK. What started out as a small time effort to raise a bit of dough for a local animal welfare charity has captured hearts all around the nation. I was in a Hobart audience a while back and the duo had the format down pat. It was a night of laughter and tears. If one of their live performances comes to a venue near you, do make the effort to attend.

The volume in question – there has been an international edition since - has all the faults of its predecessors – there are still the try-hards and still some drivel. But overwhelmingly most letters contained within speak from the heart, some even quite intimate in nature. The editors have by now reached the conclusion that part of the reason for the success of these books, as well as their live source, is that, in letters, there is a sense of safety not present on social media. The shows have a rigorous no recording policy and the readers involved all need to give permission for publication. The audience for both would not be the milieu for trolls in any case, I would have thought.

The edition in question is bookended with poignancy. First cab off the rank is the magnificent Stella Young, composing a letter to her octogenarian self – 'By the time I get to you I'll have written things that change the way people think about disability. I'll have been part of a strong, beautiful movement of disabled people in Australia.' And arguably, along with the marvellous 'The Last Leg', she, at thirty-two, already has. Sadly a few weeks after publication of this book our gorgeous advocate for crips – her word, not mine – died suddenly. Very early on in the history of 'W of L' she had forthrightly stated that the organisers had better find a wheelchair-friendly venue for the live version or face her wrath. The two convenors did so immediately and the spirited Stella became a firm friend of the pair.

The closing letter was by former Greens senator Christine Milne. Once upon a time I was a friend during her uni years and for a time we shared a school staffroom on Tassie's North West Coast. Her letter was to her former students at Devonport High School and it centred on a book that is very close to my family's heart – Paul Gallico's classic 'The Snow Goose'. My beautiful sister Frith derives her name from that tale.

There was much else to enjoy, such as Chrissie Swan's encounter with a woman breast feeding in a suburban shopping mall. She was dressed in a bear suit with a flashing neon sign attached to her head warning, 'Boobs Ahoy'. I love Spiderbait's drummer Kram's relating of how the 'House Husband'/'Play School' host, Rhys Muldoon, came to be pashing Axyl Rose's girlfriend at a Melbourne concert of the Gunners. Leading the way for Muslim women in their fight against sexism and for their right to be heard, Susan Carland writes emotively about her love for her son now and into the future. Columnist Amanda Blair, whose mother once tried to match her up with Martin Bryant on a blind date, muses on how much simpler life was for women back in the day – or was it? Angie Hart's letter to her unborn child is a heart-breaker and I found out two facts about Poh that I didn't know. One is, would you believe, she's almost forty. The other is that she is not beyond dropping the f-bomb (but it's okay, she uses it in describing some cretinous troll). Jess McGuire writes of her totally 'annus horribilis', but in doing so demonstrates how even the most dire of circumstances can have an upside. Guitarist for our beloved Go-Betweens, Adele Pickvance, writes engagingly on the difficulties involved for a Brit adjusting to life in Oz. And lastly, in my resume of 'Between Us' highlights, is the story of how Sommer Tothill's life was turned around by the true narrative of her Uncle Rolly's demise.

There is much, much else to recommend this penultimate addition to the 'W of L' list of titles and I bet, once you've devoured this glorious omnibus, you'll be hankering for the other four. Now I think I might take up my pen and write a snail mail missive of my own to my good mate....
26 reviews2 followers
January 17, 2017
In 2013 I sat in the Paradiso Spiegeltent during the Adelaide Fringe and cried as Maude Davey read a letter written to the thing she dreams of. It made me cry because it was deeply personal, revealing, and honest. It was written as if to a dear friend, the kind you can trust with your failures and insecurities, the kind who will keep your words safe, treasure them, and offer her own in return. I, along with five hundred others, was being entrusted with these words and it was a privilege.
Between Us is a compilation of other letters written to dreams, and journeys, older selves and other-halves, but all have been composed for performance. And this, for me, is the most disappointing aspect of the book. It is meant to be a celebration of the lost art of letter writing, but all the pieces are contrived, not letters, as you or I know them; they are not written from one person to another, from a you to a me; they are not that gift that arrives in the post to be eagerly consumed in silence and alone, with a cup of tea and a shortbread biscuit.
Michael Williams seems to be with me on this one when he says in his ‘letter’ to his other-half, wife Michelle Bennett, “it’s not that I don’t have anything to say, it’s just that it feels odd to be writing to you…” I wonder if, like me, he feels the form is being stretched into an odd shape.
At their best these letters read like diary entries, never to be read by anyone else, full of private angst, thoughtfully examined; they are brave and generous and worth reading for the life lessons they share. At their worst they are attempts at comedic fiction, though I didn’t laugh very much, and the lack of sincerity seemed an insult in places. This was most striking between the first and second letters. Stella Young, comedian and disability activist, opens the book with a letter to her 80 year old self. ‘By the time I get to you…’she says. But she won’t, she died soon after this book was published, and so I read each aspiration for a long and meaningful life with such sadness. The next piece (I can’t bring myself to call it a letter) was a shock. It was a superficial futuristic fantasy that seemed to mock the authenticity of Stella Young’s contribution. Poor placement maybe, but these two letters demonstrate the strength and the weakness of the collection.
When it is strong, however, it is moving and interesting and even entertaining. As well as Stella Young and Michael Williams, writers worth skipping to include Poh Ling Yeow, Zoe Norton Lodge, Adrienne Truscott, Jess Cornelius, Hannah Kent and Alex Craig. Each has taken the brief seriously and written something, letterly, if that’s a word, something intimate and honest and revealing. I feel closer to these writers, and that’s what good letters do – they bring people closer when the distance between them is vast.
So would I recommend it? Well, yes. While it is not a true tribute to the lost art of letter writing, that precious form of communication which, between Jean-Paul Satre and Simone de Beauvoir fostered love, and between Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace fostered the theory of evolution. This book does celebrate a form of writing that has evolved, if you like, from the penned letters of our past.
At a time when communication is instant and truncated, when life events are given thumbs up or down in Facebook, and meaning is confined to 140 characters, many of these letters, though contrived, are still precious rare things communicating the hopes and disappointments, the joys and sorrows of their writers.
To quote Michael Williams again, “Maybe that’s what letters are for: to elevate the truly important away from the mundane. To use the illusion of distance, the theatre of words on a page, to make something special out of the everyday…”
If your letter box reveals nothing but bills, Between Us will go beautifully with a cup of tea and a shortbread biscuit.

1,037 reviews9 followers
January 7, 2015
A collection of letters, easy and quick to read. Some are fabulous and I re-read them as they were so good and give you ideas to ponder. Others are not as memorable.
Profile Image for Tasha.
179 reviews12 followers
November 25, 2018
I think I had expectations going into this book. I was Disappointed that it was written by famous people. I feel like I would have connected better had they been stories about commoners.
Profile Image for Bree T.
2,429 reviews100 followers
December 12, 2014
A bit over 4 years ago, Marieke Hardy and Michaela McGuire had a dream to revive the lost art of letter writing and they invited women of influence to read their letters aloud at the launch in Melbourne. This is now the fourth volume of Women of Letters and it’s now become a phenomenon, reaching a greater audience both in Australia and abroad. This is the third volume I’ve read and it amazes me how many times I find something that touches me. In this volume it is without a doubt, Tracey Spicer’s letter to her mother under the heading of ‘To my wake up call’. It would be impossible not to be hooked by the first line of this letter and not be affected by her heartbreaking story. Centered around a very contentious issue (euthanasia or assisted suicide), Spicer details her mother’s last days dying of a cripplingly painful form of cancer and how she couldn’t bring herself to give her mother the assistance they had promised – none of her family could. It is a beautiful letter, utterly blunt in its honesty. In fact I think you can read this letter on the Bookworld site, here. I’d advise everyone to read it, if you aren’t already a supporter of euthanasia, you probably will be after you finish it.

If humour is more your thing rather than soul-baring then there’s plenty for you in here, including some very amusing A Letter To My Other Half pairings where the other halves aren’t always who you might think, including Rhys Muldoon and Kram, Peter and Anna Goldsworthy, The First Dog on the Moon and editor Sophie Black and Claudia Karvan and Jeremy Lindsey Taylor, writing as their characters in Puberty Blues. There’s Chrissie Swan, Cate Kennedy and more writing to their 80-year old selves. And if you feel like going back into more serious territory, Kerryn Phelps has a letter under ‘To My Journey’ which talks of the fight to have same sex marriage recognised.

Between Us is another lovely collection of letters that can be enjoyed in one sitting or savoured and read slowly, picking and choosing from the categories and people that interest you. There’s a brief bio on all of the contributors at the back, which I have to admit I found very helpful as quite a few of them were unfamiliar to me. If a letter isn’t really to your liking, you can just skip it and go to the next one. Some I’ve read more than once and may go back to yet again in the future. As a fan of the written letter, I enjoy seeing these books continue to get published, raising the profile of the lost art. In a world where communication is more instant these days, with texting, facebook, email and twitter it’s refreshing to get back to a more traditional form.
Profile Image for Louise.
16 reviews1 follower
December 2, 2014
There is something so truly intimate about reading a letter and something even more special about reading a letter from one person to another. Being privileged to see what feelings and thoughts are written down from one soul to another is rather wonderful and only slightly intrusive-feeling.

The Women of Letters books are now up to their fourth volume, Between Us has letters to something they were happy to lose, to the thing I dream of and to my eighty-year-old self. Along with these are letters between two people, occasionally more than one letter each.

The singular letters are at all times poetic, witty, heartfelt, and true and are sometimes angry, crazy, adventurous and cheeky. The writers are wonderful people like Miriam Margolyes, Stella Young, Celia Pacquola and Christine Milne.

Then there are those written between two people, letters to their other half. These are between father and daughter, former editor and cartoonist, novellist and editor and are revealing and beautiful.

I think it was within fifty pages where I first cried reading this and within the next fifty I had laughed and then cried again. I can't imagine how brilliant these letters would be when heard in person, as the origin of these books are the regularly held events which take place from Melbourne to New York.

Though Twitter and emails may reduce the need for a handwritten letter there is no replacing the joy of receiving one from a close friend or relative and I'm sure these books and the events relight the desire to put pen to paper.
Profile Image for Sharon Lee.
326 reviews5 followers
December 3, 2016
A good book for dipping in and out of. Some of the letters are wonderfully funny, some wonderfully sad, others interesting. There were a few where I would liked to have hugged the writer. Also a couple of not so good letters which I did not enjoy at all.
102 reviews23 followers
May 3, 2016
In turns insightful, hilarious, moving, and thought-provoking (sometimes even simultaneously), this collection of letters is truly a joy to read.
71 reviews1 follower
June 27, 2020
Women of Letters is a great concept, born of a desire to recapture the intimate form of letter writing. Between Us is the fourth in this series, but the first I have read (and probably the last for that matter).

The collection is an easy read and provides the sort of text you could dip in and out of as you please, which might make it a good choice for those who prefer to read in short bursts. It also has enough variation to keep your interest sustained for longer reading sessions.

The letters are organised into topics such as 'To my eighty-year-old self' and 'To the thing I'd like to avoid'. Those topics would likely be a terrific writing stimulus in a classroom, but I suspect they may have gone some way towards constraining the writers in the collection. The letters did not feel like the spontaneous and open flow of consciousness I was anticipating (which may have been an unfair expectation), but pieces someone had been tasked to complete.

None of the letters felt like a genuine private communication to oneself or another. There was an awareness in each that it was to be shared widely, and judged, which imbued them with a constructed and performative tone. The authors were often writing to provoke a laugh or endear themselves to a reader, detracting from the ambitions that began this project to preserve the unique traits of letter writing.

There were occasionally some moving and sincere letters, particularly those by Tracey Spicer and Susan Carland. Carland's letter struck me for the poignant image of motherhood it creates. It has stayed with me despite my typical aversion to all things maternal.

Each of the letters is also written by someone of celebrity status. There were times I loved reading a name like Hannah Kent, as I greatly admire her work and was interested to learn more about her. However, I wonder if the collection would have had greater substance and quality had average Joe submission been included. Perhaps these would have been more earnest if the author had less concerns for how they might appear in the public eye. So too might people who truly had something they wanted to express in words have been granted that opportunity, rather than someone being asked to participate by a celebrity friend.

An easy and mostly enjoyable read, yes.
A lasting text that has done something significant for the art of letter writing, no.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews

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