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Love Letters Of Great Men And Women
by
Ursula Doyle
From the private papers of Jane Austen and Mozart to those of Anne Boleyn and Nelson, "Love Letters of Great Men and Women" collects together some of the most romantic letters in history. For some of these great men, love is a 'delicious poison' (William Congreve); for others, 'a nice soft wife on a sofa with good fire, & books & music' (Charles Darwin). Love can s...more
Paperback, 300 pages
Published
January 15th 2010
by Pan Publishing
(first published January 1st 2010)
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I cannot overstate how much I enjoyed this. I really almost want to go through it with a highlighter and marking passages and quotes. I'm a hopeless romantic, it's true so it was always going to appeal but in the collection we have letters from authors, leaders, politicians, composers, scientists and monarchs. We have Henry the VIII sending a portrait of himself as a sign of his affection to Anne Boleyn, and Anne Boleyn sending a letter back to him years later as she's imprisoned. We have Queen...more
First of all, I just want to note that this book does not include love letters by Jane Austen even though the description says so. But even though I always love some Austen, this book was pretty good without it.
Since I watched the Sex and the City movie I've been wanting to buy one of those love letter books there are in the bookstores. When I was hanging around at the Waterstone's at London I found this one and had to buy it since it looked so good. And I am happy I did since this was delightf...more
Since I watched the Sex and the City movie I've been wanting to buy one of those love letter books there are in the bookstores. When I was hanging around at the Waterstone's at London I found this one and had to buy it since it looked so good. And I am happy I did since this was delightf...more
Nov 18, 2010
Mandi Ellsworth
added it
I confess, I didn't read every letter because I found this book mostly depressing, despite its promising title. It seemed that nearly everyone was either writing to a mistress or someone else's wife for the men's part. And don't even get me started on the crazy lives of the women they chose to highlight. The two couples I can say were actually sweet, were Mark Twain and his wife, and John and Abagail Adams. It also seems that everyone died of tuberculosis. It was a very interesting read, and if...more
I found this book to be simply delightful. I am definitely not a romantic, but I must admit some of these letters made my heart sing with joy.
It's fantastic that we get to see a different side of all these amazing man and woman, whom we always picture as strong and powerful. Mozart, for instance, seemed to be a hilarious man!
Oh, and Oscar Wilde's letters to Lord Alfred Douglas? Wonderful, simply wonderful. Those letters made me want to date Oscar Wilde myself.
So romantic, so touching, but so...more
It's fantastic that we get to see a different side of all these amazing man and woman, whom we always picture as strong and powerful. Mozart, for instance, seemed to be a hilarious man!
Oh, and Oscar Wilde's letters to Lord Alfred Douglas? Wonderful, simply wonderful. Those letters made me want to date Oscar Wilde myself.
So romantic, so touching, but so...more
I read only the letters of great men, as I was looking for some patterns to see. Truly, people in love are not that different from each other and it shows by their wording and approach to showing affection. I like how you can learn about the writer's background and compare it to his way of expressing affection. Some are better, some are worse, but those letters are a nice and easy read. The literary power is not that great, but the analysis you can do with the texts is quite fun.
This book is the reason why I love the older kind of love and not teenage love. :) The letters are so sweet!
The editing of this collection is a little heavy-handed, and some of the introductions to the authors of the letters are too long. However, the actual content is wonderful - a whole spectrum of the types and circumstances of love is covered, and I often had a huge smile on my face after reading them. Heartbreaking, life-affirming, all of that stuff and a sweet reminder as to how love can make us feel. Even if we don't write letters to our loves any more, the feelings remain the same, surely? Tha...more
A compilation of possibly the greatest true to life love letters, not to mention the history and story that goes along with it, ever written. The beauty of the words, the playful string of them all. It's not only soothing to the heart but to the mind too. Refreshing.
This book is great for those evenings on which you want a quick read. You can just open this book on a random page and start enjoying some beautiful love letters.
I would recommend this book to any romantic soul, it was quite entertaining.
I would recommend this book to any romantic soul, it was quite entertaining.
Jumping in and out of this book at irregular interviews is great, on the tube, at home after a heavy article or just over a cup of coffee.
i really liked the Men's pieces. wasn't fond of the Women's though
Men had more to say in writing and expressed more than today.
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