In Their Own Words: A History in Letters

In Their Own Words: Letters from History #1

by National Archives

The way we communicate has changed. Today many of our interactions are digital, but until recently writing letters was the norm. Drawing from over 100 miles of records held at the UK's official government archive, The National Archives at Kew, this collection of letters, postcards and telegrams will shine a spotlight on a range of significant historical moments and occurrences, recapturing a lost world in which correspondence was king.

The audiobook includes letters from Karl Marx, requesting UK citizenship; an anonymous writer purporting to be Jack the Ripper; Josef Kramer, the commandant of Bergen Belsen; Winston Churchill to President Roosevelt, requesting US support against Hitler; Clement Atlee to Harry S Truman following Hiroshima; the spies Burgess and Maclean; as well as the 'real Charlotte Gray' spy, Christine Granville, amongst others.

Topics covered include the Monteagle letter that warned about the Gunpowder plot, letters from the Wright brothers trying to get the War Office to fund their aeronautical research, a dispatch on the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Christine Keeler's Russian-British love triangle that begat the Profumo affair, US disapproval of British trade with Cuba, a letter reporting on the first day of the trial of Nelson Mandela, and the anonymous letter that framed the Krays.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Audiobook, Biography, Memoir

Audiobook

First published August 25, 2016

Reviews

[Sheila Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. A really interesting dip into the millions of documents in the National Archive. I liked the way the book was structured around different themes. Telling the story through letters worked really well.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some fascinating letters in this collection with some useful historical information/context provided with each letter. For me, the personal, non-official, letters were most interesting (and occasionally amusing), giving a 'human' perspective that is missing from the dry Goverment/official letters.

Have to admit I enjoyed picking some of my favourite voices reading the letters in the audio version.

[Stefennie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite interesting collection of letters. Great insight into some history

[Emma Dargue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting audiobook of the sheer breath of information stored within the National Archive.

[Mills College Library]

808.86 I358 2016