Love Letters: 2,000 Years of Romance

by Andrea Clarke (Editor)

Long before there were e-mail emoticons for love hearts and flirtatious text messages and photos sent via cell phone satellite, one had to actually try to articulate feelings of love and desire in real words and sentences. The love letter these days often seems like a lost art form, when even those of us who might wish to enclose sentiments in an envelope can turn to the assistance of Hallmark cards. But love letters are not just the made-up stuff of novels; once upon a time handwritten letters facilitated some of the most intimate exchanges between lovers.

 

This beautiful book from the British Library celebrates two thousand years of love letter history, from ancient Egypt to the present day. Included here are facsimile reproductions of twenty-five letters, which are fully transcribed along with engaging commentaries about the correspondents and their circumstances and portraits of the writers and recipients. Love Letters includes correspondence by figures such as Henry VIII, Charles Dickens, Charlotte Brontë, Admiral Nelson, Oscar Wilde, and Mervyn Peake. The words of love letters allow us insights into the private relationships of people across centuries, cultures, and continents, and the original manuscripts of such letters grant the reader a direct connection with the author of such personal words.

 

A perfect gift for any beloved, this charming book may inspire many to pick up a pen and record some passionate missives of their own.

Genres: Nonfiction

128 pages, Hardcover

First published October 15, 2011

Reviews

[Miroku Nemeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very brief and somewhat puzzling in some of the selections--not really much of an overview of "2000" years of love letters as it goes from the second century CE to the 15th after the first entry. Some of the material was very beautiful and a good reminder of the joys and pain of love--a much better collection can be found but it gives one some exposure to what are with the exception of one entry, a small assortment of love letters from British history.

[TK421 · Rating 5 out of 5]

R,

My lovely bride. My breath. My joy. My light in the darkness.

The words contained in these correspondences can only allude to the love I feel for you. Truth be told, words are inadequate in describing my love for you. Each morning, as I leave for work, my heart breaks because I know that we have to be separated for even the shortest of time. O, how I long for our daily reunions. Your laughter. Your smile. Your sweet scent. These and more guide me home. You are my peace. And this peace allows me to say that I am madly, euphorically, and magically in love with you!

Your forever devoted husband and friend,

G

[Ordrelaterat | Isabella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some letters are hard to read (as they are written in a more "old-ish" way and english is not my first language) but the more recent ones I mostly like. As I saw someone else point out it is not really 2000 years of romane since the absolut most ones are from between 1500-1900.

My rating also fell a little from the letters not beeing so diverse. It says in the book that there are letters from all around the world but I would guess 99% of them are from europe (mostly britan). But I do like to see letters from different authors such as Brontë, Dickens, Wilde... and some other well known names. It was also nice to get some background information about the people that wrote the letters and the people who recieved them.

I think my favorite was the more poetic 'How do I love thee?' (P.99) By Elisabeth Barrer Browning.

[Justine Trokey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really cool collection of historical letters from an ancient papyrus from 168 BC to love notes from an actor to his wife in the 1960s. There were also photos of the documents housed at the British Library so you could look at the script in its original form. The letters reflected every kind of loving relationship across the board, including some very famous people like Charlotte Bronte, Charles Dickens, and Oscar Wilde. It was intriguing to look into the personal lives of some of these people.

[nareh · Rating 3 out of 5]

"2000 years" is quite a stretch but i did enjoy it overall. although only the first and last pages of the letters are actually provided, the additional info along with the illustrations plus the original handwritten pages of the letters do make it for an aesthetically pleasing book. endlessly disappointed that virginia's and vita's letters weren't included though.

[Blaize · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would have been much better written had there been no introduction before each love letter. I need not to read the words from the author before I read those of the lovers.

[Natasha M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure I would say that these were strictly romantic but they were a nice little peep into the private lives of some famous (perhaps notorious) individuals. A few are sad when viewed in retrospect, some are only excerpts so I would say this is a taste of correspondence which left me wanting to plow through more letters. Must add that to my never-diminishing-to-read endeavors.

The major saving point is the hardback version of this book (which I own) which has photographed copies of the original letters so it almost becomes a study on hand-writing (if one tries to read the original rather than the transcribed text they provide on the following page. What is also interesting is the state of some of the letters--Charlotte Bronte's to Heger in particular which had been painstakingly sewn back together (by Heger's wife no less). Very fascinating to see those little stitches!

All in all, I'm happy I own it, if only mostly for the visuals rather than the content.

[Daniel Stephens · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty, if a tad shallow, little book.
The subtitle "2,000 Years of Romance" is somewhat misleading - the collection starts in 168 BCE, then jumps to 1477, and ends in 1970, but I suppose "About 500 Years of Romance (plus one Roman letter)" didn't have the same ring to it.
In essence, this is mostly about the British Library showing off some nice things from its collection.
The letters vary widely in subject - and only fit the term "love letters" if it is stretched to braking point. (Indeed, several are not even letters at all).
That being said, there are both historically very interesting, and very moving, things contained here.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful Valentine's Day present for a literary lover, this book will brighten the eyes and gladden the heart of anyone who has ever tried to write a love letter. Here are artists, great people, famous people, and even kings, writing of their love. It's a reminder that love does endure and people do find each other no matter what the age and however dire the circumstances. It's also a useful reminder that we didn't invent love, much as we might be tempted to believe it. It has been around at least since 168 BC, the date of the first letter in this lovely collection.

[Giada Da Ros]

.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

See my review at http://www.theenglishhome.co.uk/blogs...

[Michela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely and well illustrated collection of words and thoughts and, above all, love.
A little treasure that every bookshelf should have, hidden or in plain sight!

[Jaymin Ewens · Rating 3 out of 5]

The format of this book was brilliant and beautiful, but the chosen letters only seemed marginally like love letters excluding the last few.