Writers' Letters: Jane Austen to Chinua Achebe

by Michael Bird, Orlando Bird

Delve into the lives and work of some of the world’s great writers with this intriguing collection of correspondence.
 
There is much to discover in this illustrated compendium of letters written by  great novelists, poets, playwrights and essayists , from Cervantes to the present day. 
One hundred letters and notes from Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf, Jack Kerouac and Chinua Achebe  among many others are reproduced, together with a transcript of the correspondence and background details which provide their context. Arranged thematically, the book contains personal musings on love, happiness, work, daily life, money, politics, travel and the creative process.
 
For lovers of literature, these rare documents provide fascinating insights into writers' daily lives, relationships and work. In the era of SMS, email and instant message, Writers' Letters reminds us of the treasures to be found in a simple letter.
 

224 pages, Hardcover

Published November 9, 2021

Reviews

[Matthew Ted · Rating 3 out of 5]

120th book of 2021.

A sort of intellectual coffee-table book, one you can imagine in a very modern white-spaced apartment. The letters inside are no longer than 5 or 6 lines each which means one can read several in one go. Above the small letters are tiny biographies about the writer in question, their lives in general or the lives regarding the period in which the below letter was written. To the left of these two small paragraphs, a photograph of the very letter, to see the writer's handwriting, or in some cases, their drawings too. Oddly I found the small biographies to be more interesting than the letters themselves. I'm currently reading Tokarczuk's The Books of Jacob and found she described the problem with the letters in this book:

I worry that simply summarising someone's Views cannot convey a full Sense of their Spirit—the linguistic Habits of the Author get lost, his Style too, and Humour and Anecdotes cannot be simply summarised.

This was the exact problem I had with the otherwise well-formatted book; the snippets from the letters were so short that as soon as I began to get a feel for the story of their letter, it was over. In some cases the letters were so short and saying nothing of any worth (so it seemed to me) that I wondered why they had been included at all. So ironically in a book about writers' letters, it was the short biographies and the scans of the letters themselves that I found most worthwhile.

There are a great number of writers within, poets and writers alike, across several chapters: "before they were famous", "between friends", "this is history", "all for love", "when troubles come", "literary business", "voice of experience", "leave taking". By far one of the best letters included is Stefan Zweig's suicide note (he and his wife committed suicide together in 1942), which I have never seen before. I may add some more bits over the next few days but this was by far the most striking and moving to me. The paragraph biography above this letter points out that when 'their bodies were discovered, hers was still warm.' And thanks to Netgalley for the copy.

Declaration

Before I leave my life of my own free will and with a clear mind, I feel bound to fulfill a final obligation—to give heartfelt thanks to this wonderful land of Brazil [...] Every day I learned to love this country more, and I would not have asked to rebuild my life in any other place after the world of my own language sank and was lost to me, and my spiritual homeland, Europe, destroyed itself.
But to start everything anew after a man's 60th birth year requires special powers, and my own power has been expended after years of wandering homeless. I thus prefer to end my life at the right time, upright, as a man for whom cultural work has always been his purest happiness and personal freedom—the most precious possessions of this earth.
I send greetings to all my friends! May they live to see the dawn after this long night! I, who am most impatient, go before them.

Stefan Zweig

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting, enjoyable reference book providing a fleeting glimpse of information on a variety of famous writers. The brief biography of the letter writer with reference to when the letter was written is particularly well done. A photograph of the letter is provided with the letter typed in English. (There are a number of translations).

A book for readers who are interested in learning a small amount of information about various writers. There are some memorable letters. Frances Burney's vivid description of the removal of her cancerous breast without any painkillers. Stefan Zweig's suicide letter. Norman Mailer's army letter from the Philippines in 1946 to his parents in which he writes his ideas for a novel that would become 'The Naked and the Dead'.

This book was first published in 2021.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I liked the idea of this book much more than the execution. The collection is supposed to be letters from famous writers (which drew me to check this out). The format for the book just didn't work for me. I liked that an image of each letter was included, but the text that's next to it doesn't include each letter in its entirety. This makes it feel like the reader is only given a tiny snapshot of what the entire letter was about. I did appreciate the background info that's included with each letter, but this also felt a little too brief. I would have loved more information about what works became famous and some additional biographical information.

Just wish this had been put together differently - it could have been really cool.

*Free ARC provided by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

[Vidya Tiru · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love reading in general (well, of course), as well as reading author biographies and letters that others have written. In addition, I happen to love reading and writing letters anyways (as you might already know)! I talked about the lost art of letter writing a few days ago right here on my blog.

So when I saw this book on NetGalley, I knew I had to read it. Writers’ Letters is an excellent curation of well, writer’s letters. Organized into creatively titled chapters (that help group letters by themes), this book includes a diverse group of writers (across time and land) thus ensuring that everyone will find a favorite author or two within its pages. The themed chapters have titles (and sub-titles) like ‘My head is full of pebbles’ (between friends), and ‘Like an old war horse’ (voice of experience).

Each letter includes a photograph as well as text of the original letter (or a part of it) as well as a background that gives the correspondence context and information about the letter, its sender, and its recipient.

With a hundred letters across its pages, this book gives readers a fascinating look into the lives of the writers. Seeing their handwritten (or typed in some cases) letters is like taking a peek into their minds. Some of my favorite letters include Kenneth Grahame’s letter to his young son, as well as Mark Twain’s to Walt Whitman, and Herman Melville’s letter to Nathaniel Hawthorne. Then there are Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning’s letters to each other. One other letter that had an impact was Stefan Zweig’s suicide note, addressed to ‘all his friends.’

The book led me to the discovery of so many friendships among writers (as well as that of writers with other personalities), and while I am not sure if that surprised me, it certainly delighted me.

In Summary
Gift it to all those who love reading, writing, and letters (or to yourself!)

Thanks to Netgalley for the e-rc of this book. These are my honest opinions of the book.

[joyce w. laudon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes when caught up in our emails, Snapchats, texts and more, it is easy to forget that people once wrote letters. Yes, letters. A form of correspondence that called for careful writing and a time lag before having a thought and someone’s reading it. Well, this book honors that art of letter writing.

There are so many authors included that it is difficult to choose just a few. To whet your appetite, how about Sylvia Plath, Kurt Vonnegut, Jane Austen, John Donne, D.H. Lawrence, Jack Kerouac of Stefan Zweig? Also, readers may find it fascinating to find out to whom each letter is written.

The book is organized into eight sections. Some of these are titled “Before they were famous,” “between friends,” “literary business” and “leave taking.” There are photos of the letters in each section which brings an immediacy to the pages.

This book can be read in any order or just dipped into. It offers a delightful exploration of the written word. Each letter is preceded by some context about what follows. Don’t skip the interesting introduction. It was insightful about women and letter writing among other topics.

I recommend this title. It offers an interesting read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

[Y.S. Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Writers' Letters is a collection of personal letters from writers to friends, lovers, family, and foes. From Samuel Johnson's letter to his adopted ex-slave Jamaican heir and Mart Twain's adorable letter to Walt Whitman, this is a collection for lovers of all things literature. Writers' Letters is a book exposing the struggles, foibles, and inner lives of writers when they are not professionally crafting a narrative for the public.

WHAT STANDS OUT
The diversity of writers here is a good thing. From differences in ethnicity to genres, you are likely to find one or two of your favourite writers here.

I love the background provided for each letter. This gives each correspondence some context, enabling the reader to understand why it was written, to whom, and under which historical circumstances.

It was nice seeing prints of the original documents in the book. It gives this collection an authentic flavour.

DISLIKES
None.

Many thanks to Quarto Publishing Group – White Lion for providing a review copy.

[Raj Nandani ( Wrap the Fury) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Writers' Letters is a collection of letters that famous writers have written to their acquaintances and friends and families during their lifetime. It is an intimate collection of letters with partial letters visible in the scanned images attached in the book. The small description of the context in which the letter was written proved to be very relevant information for understanding the letters. It was amusing to know about the authors that I have admired, to know about their relationships with people, Their ways with words when they were meant for personal experiences and eyes.

One thing that I disliked about the book was the format in which the letters and the description were presented side by side. If that were divided into two parts, one page having the original letters and another with the explanation, then it could have been more attractive to take in. Other than this, I loved the whole collection.

I got the eARC copy of this book from NetGalley.

[Nette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Writers' Letters is a treasure. I enjoyed Writer's Letters and the way the book was organized is fantastic. The book has a copy of the original on one side, which is so intriguing to see the penmanship of the writer's, and then a brief backstory of the sender and receiver, of what was possibly going on during the time that the writer was putting together their letter and the transcribed version of the letter. So many letters to read from, so many time periods covered within this book, with Victor Hugo, Zora Neale Hurston, and Miguel de Cervantes as a few of my favorites but yet so many wonderful and interesting exchanges in these letters, in this book.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really excited to read this book because I loved the idea/concept of the book. However, I was a little disappointed with how the book was written. I loved seeing the photos of the actual letters and appreciated the little summaries about the writers and the people who received the letters. However, when the actual text of the letters were not complete so you can’t read everything that was written. There were some authors that I was not familiar with and ended up doing some of my own research.


*Thank you Netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.*

[Carol Keogh (Goodfellow) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A marvellous collection of letters. This book is one which I will buy, filled with interesting snippets on the lives of both writer and receiver of these letters, this is a lovely read and I would recommend to students and interested lay people alike. There is definitely something for everyone. My grateful thanks to Netgalley, the publishers and the authors for the opportunity to review this book. It gave me much pleasure

[Joni Owens · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an interesting peak into the personal thoughts of some amazing writers. Some letters are just every day conversations but some are such a wild look into their lives. It’s like being a fly on the wall as they put pen to paper.