To the Letter A Curious History of Correspondence
- 3 Jul 2014
- 9780857868619
- £9.99
- 464 pp
- 129×198mm
- 24 Oct 2013
- 9780857868602
- £7.99
- 464 pp
In a few words
The paperback outing of this engaging and enlightening history of letter-writing and our relationship with the mail, from the bestselling author of Just My Type and On the Map
In a few words
The newest outing of this engaging and enlightening history of letter-writing and our relationship with the mail, from the bestselling author of Just My Type and On the Map
Garfield being Garfield, there's a rich cull of curiosities . . . A shining success
John Carey
The Sunday TimesWonderful . . . One of the things which makes this book so attractive is Garfield's enjoyment of his subject. He writes with a winning informality and freshness
Diana Athill
Literary ReviewGarfield being Garfield, there's a rich cull of curiosities . . . A shining success
John Carey
The Sunday TimesGarfield being Garfield, there's a rich cull of curiosities . . . A shining success
John Carey
The Sunday TimesMore about
the book
Every letter contains a miniature story, and here are some of the greatest. From Oscar Wilde’s unconventional method of using the mail to cycling enthusiast Reginald Bray’s quest to post himself, Simon Garfield uncovers a host of stories that capture the enchantment of this irreplaceable art (with a supporting cast including Pliny the Younger, Ted Hughes, Virginia Woolf, Napoleon Bonaparte, Lewis Carroll, Jane Austen, David Foster Wallace and the Little Red-Haired Girl). There is also a brief history of the letter-writing guide, with instructions on when and when not to send fish as a wedding gift. And as these accounts unfold, so does the tale of a compelling wartime correspondence that shows how the simplest of letters can change the course of a life.
More about
the book
Every letter contains a miniature story, and here are some of the greatest. From Oscar Wilde’s unconventional method of using the mail to cycling enthusiast Reginald Bray’s quest to post himself, Simon Garfield uncovers a host of stories that capture the enchantment of this irreplaceable art (with a supporting cast including Pliny the Younger, Ted Hughes, Virginia Woolf, Napoleon Bonaparte, Lewis Carroll, Jane Austen, David Foster Wallace and the Little Red-Haired Girl). There is also a brief history of the letter-writing guide, with instructions on when and when not to send fish as a wedding gift. And as these accounts unfold, so does the tale of a compelling wartime correspondence that shows how the simplest of letters can change the course of a life.
A wonderfully elegant history
A brilliant account of a lost art . . . funny letters, sad letters, pompous letters, famous letters, farewell letters, saucy letters, letters from soldiers and letters from swindlers: they are all here
Craig Brown
Mail on SundayA hymn of praise to twenty centuries of letter-writing. It spurs a desire to reach once more for the pad and envelope...Garfield's knowledge is wide and his enthusiasm matchless
Libby Purves
The TimesExcellent, amusing and moving
Wonderful . . . One of the things which makes this book so attractive is Garfield's enjoyment of his subject. He writes with a winning informality and freshness
Diana Athill
Literary ReviewWonderful . . . One of the things which makes this book so attractive is Garfield's enjoyment of his subject. He writes with a winning informality and freshness
Diana Athill
Literary ReviewA wonderfully elegant history
A wonderfully elegant history
Simon Garfield
View profileSimon Garfield is the author of fourteen acclaimed books of non-fiction including On the Map, Just My Type and The Wrestling. His edited diaries from the Mass Observation Archive, Our Hidden Lives, We Are At War and Private Battles, were bestsellers, and his study of AIDS in Britain, The End of Innocence, won the Somerset Maugham prize. He lives in London and St Ives, Cornwall.
Simon Garfield
View profileSimon Garfield is the author of fourteen acclaimed books of non-fiction including On the Map, Just My Type and The Wrestling. His edited diaries from the Mass Observation Archive, Our Hidden Lives, We Are At War and Private Battles, were bestsellers, and his study of AIDS in Britain, The End of Innocence, won the Somerset Maugham prize. He lives in London and St Ives, Cornwall.
