24%OFF
Stock image for illustration purposes only - book cover, edition or condition may vary.
To the Letter: A Curious History of Correspondence
Simon Garfield
€ 13.99
€ 10.69
FREE Delivery in Ireland
Description for To the Letter: A Curious History of Correspondence
Paperback. From Oscar Wilde's unconventional method of using the mail to cycling enthusiast Reginald Bray's quest to post himself, this title 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). Num Pages: 464 pages, illustrations (black and white). BIC Classification: DN; DQ. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 198 x 137 x 30. Weight in Grams: 314.
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.
Product Details
Publisher
Canongate Books
Format
Paperback
Publication date
2014
Condition
New
Number of Pages
464
Place of Publication
Edinburgh, United Kingdom
ISBN
9780857868619
SKU
V9780857868619
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 5 to 9 working days
Ref
99-99
About Simon Garfield
Simon 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.
Reviews for To the Letter: A Curious History of Correspondence
Garfield being Garfield, there's a rich cull of curiosities . . . A shining success
John Carey
The Sunday Times
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 Review
A wonderfully elegant history
Observer
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 Sunday
A 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 Times
Excellent, amusing and moving
Financial Times
Superb
Independent on Sunday
Garfield is an elegant and perceptive writer . . . his judgment is immaculate
Daily Mail
To the Letter thrills and engages most when it cuts to the core of human relationships, showing personalities pinned to the page in all their painful imperfections
Observer
Delightful
Daily Mail
John Carey
The Sunday Times
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 Review
A wonderfully elegant history
Observer
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 Sunday
A 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 Times
Excellent, amusing and moving
Financial Times
Superb
Independent on Sunday
Garfield is an elegant and perceptive writer . . . his judgment is immaculate
Daily Mail
To the Letter thrills and engages most when it cuts to the core of human relationships, showing personalities pinned to the page in all their painful imperfections
Observer
Delightful
Daily Mail