Remember the wonderfully romantic book of love letters that Carrie reads aloud to Big in the recent blockbuster film, Sex and the City? Fans...
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reviews
Jan 14, 2012
Gabrielle
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There were a few (very few) good and romantic love letters in this book. Sadly quite a number of the letters were as dull as toast. That could just be a matter of taste, but what was really annoying was that some of these letters weren't love letters at all. Letters that looked to me to have been added simply because the writer is known as a 'great man'.
If not all the love letters were great, the introductions to the author of a letter was... well crap. Those bit, which would preced More...
If not all the love letters were great, the introductions to the author of a letter was... well crap. Those bit, which would preced More...
Feb 19, 2011
Sher
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This little book is the kind that is best enjoyed by picking it up from time to time and reading a little bit at a sitting. Unfortunately, I'm not that kind of reader, so I read it all in one day. These letters are all beautifully written, most by men with names I recognized, some of whom I did not. I kept wondering, though, what these people would think if they knew anybody who wanted to, could read their most private and intimate thoughts. I'm pretty sure I would not want that.
I More...
I More...
Jan 07, 2011
Jen
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This is the book that Carie read from in the movie, Sex and the City, while in bed with Big... and in real life the book didn't exist until moviegoers and fans stormed bookstores looking for it.
A collection of love letters from "great" men, this book is exactly what it says it is. Editor Ursula Doyle writes in the introduction, "It could be argued that the flowery declarations were more for show (and, in some cases, posterity) than the genuine expression of genuine feeli More...
A collection of love letters from "great" men, this book is exactly what it says it is. Editor Ursula Doyle writes in the introduction, "It could be argued that the flowery declarations were more for show (and, in some cases, posterity) than the genuine expression of genuine feeli More...
Nov 28, 2011
Autumn
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The title of this should read " Love Letters of Well Known Men" because frankly some of these men weren't "great" catches.
Henry VIII wrote a very sweet letter to Ann Boleyn and it is included in this collection. It's such a nice letter with such tender friendship, it's hard to believe that he beheaded her a couple years later.
My favorite letters were from Napoleon to his wife Josephine Bonaparte. He whines and chastises her for not returning his affecti More...
Henry VIII wrote a very sweet letter to Ann Boleyn and it is included in this collection. It's such a nice letter with such tender friendship, it's hard to believe that he beheaded her a couple years later.
My favorite letters were from Napoleon to his wife Josephine Bonaparte. He whines and chastises her for not returning his affecti More...
Nov 13, 2011
Lisa
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Lame…….I was attracted by the title. I found many of these letters juvenile and even comical. Most of them were written to mistresses.
One of my favorites was a letter from Robert Burns to Mrs. Agnes Maclehose. They used the pennames of ‘Sylvander’ and ‘Clarinda’ to protect their identities during their “passionate correspondence.” Burns “rather impressively managed to impregnate Mrs. Maclehose’s maidservant Jenny Clow at the same time as carrying on the heated correspondence with More...
One of my favorites was a letter from Robert Burns to Mrs. Agnes Maclehose. They used the pennames of ‘Sylvander’ and ‘Clarinda’ to protect their identities during their “passionate correspondence.” Burns “rather impressively managed to impregnate Mrs. Maclehose’s maidservant Jenny Clow at the same time as carrying on the heated correspondence with More...
Aug 04, 2011
Shahirah
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What I've learnt from this collection of love letters is that the greatness of the man is not commensurate with his ability to write a satisfyingly knee-buckling, heart-melting, butterfly-in-the-stomach-producing billet-doux. Some, like the one Oscar Wilde wrote to his lover, and the one Robert Browning wrote his wife Elizabeth Barrett Browning, were good and sweet, but there were quite a number of unremarkable letters in this collection that could have been omitted.
Another thing I've learnt is More...
Another thing I've learnt is More...
Aug 09, 2011
Chloé
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A lovely little book. A great Christmas present from my beloved (whose letters deserve to be in here)!
Didn't really like Napoleon's letters though and Beethoven's letters weren't the best (except for 'Ever Thine...' etc.) - my favourites in the collection were from Darwin, Robert Browning ('I live in being yours' and 'my life has been so crowned by you'), Mark Twain and Oscar Wilde ('my heart is a rose which your love has brought to bloom').
The letters from The Great War at the end weren't reall More...
Didn't really like Napoleon's letters though and Beethoven's letters weren't the best (except for 'Ever Thine...' etc.) - my favourites in the collection were from Darwin, Robert Browning ('I live in being yours' and 'my life has been so crowned by you'), Mark Twain and Oscar Wilde ('my heart is a rose which your love has brought to bloom').
The letters from The Great War at the end weren't reall More...
May 18, 2011
Wulan
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This book reminds me of my John Keats: So Bright and Delicate book, containing his love letters and poems for Fanny. I fell in deep, obsessive, love with that book and was hoping to get the same feeling with this one.
I have to say, it was a fun read. Some letters touched me, bad. Especially the letters from the Great War. Some letters made me smile because it was just so sweet and adorable, like Pierre Curie's and Napoleon Bonaparte.
However, I have to be honest here, I More...
I have to say, it was a fun read. Some letters touched me, bad. Especially the letters from the Great War. Some letters made me smile because it was just so sweet and adorable, like Pierre Curie's and Napoleon Bonaparte.
However, I have to be honest here, I More...
Feb 13, 2012
Antonomasia
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I found this mostly quite boring, though my reasons for reading it were hardly inspired (seasonal, under 150 pages, had been lying around unread for years). There is a companion volume Love Letters from Great Women which, if I had to read one of these collections, I would have preferred.
The most interesting and affecting letters in the book were actually the four from nearly-unknown soldiers - from ordinary people. (And a very sweet one from a Daniel Webster - possibly better-known in More...
The most interesting and affecting letters in the book were actually the four from nearly-unknown soldiers - from ordinary people. (And a very sweet one from a Daniel Webster - possibly better-known in More...
Nov 15, 2011
Andrew
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Ursula Doyle takes a cheesy concept of over-indulged love and turns it into a book that both males and females alike will be able to relate to. Doyle has letters from famous men such as Mark Twain, King Henry VIII, and Winston Churchill. They profess their love for the women who inspired them to become the men they became. Doyle's format was the letter itself of course and a description of the time and person these men sent their letters to. Doyle could be seen as an author that every lovesick g
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Jan 25, 2012
Maja
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I'm not quite sure what I had expected from this book when I picked it up on a whim. That's why, I think, I'm not really sure what I think of it. There were some of the letters that were immensely sweet and loving, and some that were hardly love letters at all. There were some letters that were truly written by great men and some that were just written by men. Funnily enough my favourite was actually one of the letters that wasn't a love letter; the letter written by Daniel Webster to Josephine
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Jan 30, 2012
Nesnesnes
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Not all the great men in this collection wrote great love letters, although undoubtedly, some of the passion must have been lost in translation and/or lack of context. My favourite has got to be Daniel Webster's simple yet affectionate letter to a young woman who had left her bonnet at his house: "I gave it my parting good wishes; hoping that it might never cover an aching head, and that the eyes which it protects from the rays of the sun, may know no tears but those of joy and affection."
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Jul 19, 2011
I found this book while shopping in B&N one day. Although I was happy to see it's existence, it claims that it was put together on behalf of the idea that the book 'Love Letters of Great Men. Vol. 1' was not a real book. Therefore, this book was created. This is not true. 'Love Letters of Great Men. Vol 1' does exist, it's just not a book you will find in book stores, but possibly one you would have to order online. If you are looking for the authentic book, go online to buy it, if you don't min
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Jun 08, 2009
Sara
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It felt like they tried too hard to find "love letters" from Great Men and settled for "writing home letters" from Great Men. There were a few that were moving, but for the most part they were uneventful, sort of like reading an 8th grader's notes to their girlfriend. Not so romantic. Also was kind of turned off that they only published this AFTER the Sex and The City Movie. That added to the feeling that they just threw in whatever letters they could find to meet the rec
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Mar 14, 2011
Laala
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“I would never see anything but Pleasure in your eyes, love on your lips, and Happiness in your steps.” — John Keats in Love Letters of Great Men
There’s not really much to say about this book beyond quoting it. When I bought it, it was because I’d been curious, and for £2.99 was willing to satisfy my curiosity. I thought it might be a bit silly, or too saccharine. While I am inherently romantic I’m also quite a big cynic, and I’ve never really been able to correspond the two.
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There’s not really much to say about this book beyond quoting it. When I bought it, it was because I’d been curious, and for £2.99 was willing to satisfy my curiosity. I thought it might be a bit silly, or too saccharine. While I am inherently romantic I’m also quite a big cynic, and I’ve never really been able to correspond the two.
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Jan 14, 2010
Ellen
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I think I liked the idea of this book more than the actual book itself. That being said I did love some of the letters, especially the ones from Napoleon Bonaparte, Lord Byron, John Keats, Honore de Balzac, Mark Twain and the letters from the great war.
At least half of these letters show the great men to be unhappy and insecure in love, so much so that the letters seem to exude an anxious and unstable atmosphere. Some of the declarations of love came across as obsessions rather than More...
At least half of these letters show the great men to be unhappy and insecure in love, so much so that the letters seem to exude an anxious and unstable atmosphere. Some of the declarations of love came across as obsessions rather than More...
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May 13, 2010
Lisa (GoodChoiceReading)
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"Ever thine, ever mine, ever ours." When carrie read those words to Mr. Big on Sex and the City, I got goosebumps. I googled it one day and found out it was from a letter written by Napoleon to his secret love. After doing more research I learned that this beautiful letter and several others were collected and made into a book. Then one day at borders with my best friend, I saw it on the shelf. And the more I read, the more I wished that I could get a love letter like that someday.....
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Mar 14, 2009
Colin
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An interesting book. The first entry is a letter of Pliny the Younger to his wife, which I had actually read in Latin with my Latin 3 class the day before I first picked this book up and looked at it. Anyway, some of these are truly eloquent, others simply of great historical interest. I am flattered that my own love letters are somewhat better than those of some of these "great men."
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Feb 20, 2012
Veronika
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Interesting insight into the private worlds of those Great Men, however lacking bit more background information on the individual letters. I was expecting only letters with no introduction and no concluison. But author decided to include a little notes on the writer and sometimes receiver of the letter, therefore I think she should have dug bit deeper into the layers of history.
Sep 18, 2011
Lorraine
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A little read. Everyone likes getting letters and love letters are even better! It's neat to read how some great men like Beethoven, Oscar Wilde, Darwin and others expressed their love to their beloved. My favorite was maybe Pierre Curie to who would become Marie Curie.
"ever thine, ever mine, ever ours" Beethoven
"ever thine, ever mine, ever ours" Beethoven
Jul 25, 2011
Stacie
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There just wasn't anything oustanding in this. I felt like someone took a bunch of love letters that were sweet, and ok but nothing errotic and slapped them in a book to sell. They are letters from great men, but it doesn't really say much about the men's love affairs that I would care about.
Dec 15, 2009
Jaime
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I've perused through most of these and they're nothing too special. Some are very sweet, some are actually rude (I don't know when berating your loved one in a letter constitutes as a "love letter." There is a lot of desperation in many of the letters b/c many are written to woman who did not return the same affections. Overall, I've read through 3/4 of this book and really couldn't relate to any of it. I enjoyed the old somewhat romatic language and there were interesting things sa
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Jul 19, 2010
Lindsay
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The letters in this book demonstrate true romance. This is not your Twilight triangle. These letters are sent by men to their lovers or wives. These people are separated by war or just distance in general and it's just beautiful to see how true love made its way through the envelope.
Mar 19, 2009
Mandy
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I don't normally read books like this, but I enjoyed the change of pace. It seems like a lot of "great men" wrote to other men's wives, which I don't really like. My favorite part of the whole book was in a letter Mark Twain wrote to his wife:
Let us look forward to the coming anniversaries, with their age and their gray hairs without fear and without depression, trusting and believing that the love we bear each other will be sufficient to make them blessed.
Mar 26, 2011
Susie
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The most interesting part of this book was the story behind the love letters. I mean how much could he really love Anne Boleyn if he eventually has her beheaded? Some prose was beautiful, some cheesy. Some seemed to show true love, others merely infatuation. I mean Napoleon Bonaparte comes across pretty desperate and clingy.
I expected a pretty sappy book from what I saw on Sex and the City, but the author did her research, so it turned out to be an interesting read.
I expected a pretty sappy book from what I saw on Sex and the City, but the author did her research, so it turned out to be an interesting read.
May 03, 2010
Angela
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I enjoyed this book but couldn't rate it higher simply because I mean it is just a collection of love letters. Some made me laugh out loud. Some of the history was interesting. Some of the letters were a bit dry.
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Feb 07, 2011
Helene
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An amazing collection of love letters penned by some of the most impressive men in history. Touching and insightful, the language of both ancient and modern times filled my romance perscription entirely.
Dec 31, 2009
Deb
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This book was cited in the Sex and the City, so I thought I'd give it a read. It's interesting how much more feeling comes across in letters something that our technology advanced world is missing.
Feb 21, 2011
Trina
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So interesting to me to learn how people lived their lives in the 16,17,18th centuries. Very eloquent writing. Writing to one another was really all they had and they made it count!
Mar 14, 2011
Anne Nikoline
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If you're a sucker for romances from the past, you'll probably find this book enjoyable and leave you with a deep, deep sigh for the work Armor did back then. I enjoyed it even though I didn't know half of the men who's love letter were in there. I especially liked Napoleon's letters to his Josephine, who didn't seem to love him as much as he loved her, Oscar Wilde and his difficult love.
