The Oxford Book of Letters

by Frank Kermode (Editor), Anita Kermode (Editor)

Reading other people's letters, like reading private diaries, offers thrilling and unexpected glimpses into the lives of others, and it is partly this guilty pleasure we take in such literary eavesdropping that makes The Oxford Book of Letters so compelling. With subjects ranging from the mundane to the extraordinary, from the tragic to the hilarious, this volume spans over five centuries and chronicles the affairs of correspondents from Elizabeth I to Groucho Marx, from politicians to poets, from the famous to the unknown.
But whether the writers are educated or barely literate, whether their style is polished and witty or stumbling and artless, these letters display an immediacy and intimacy not shared by any other form of writing. In an age where communication is instant and ephemeral, this volume celebrates the glory of the written word, and what may well be a dying art form.
"This unusual and intriguing collection offers letters unlikely to be encountered elsewhere.... Leafing through these pages, it is easy to become caught up in the private lives laid open to our view."-- The Wall Street Journal

Genres: Literature, Nonfiction, History

584 pages, Paperback

First published September 14, 1995

About the author

Sir John Frank Kermode was a highly regarded British literary critic best known for his seminal critical work The Sense of an Ending: Studies in the Theory of Fiction, published in 1967 (revised 2003).

Reviews

[Chava · Rating 5 out of 5]

Makes a good nightstand book; one can open it at random and enjoy. It also partially satisfies my transgressive need to pry into the private affairs of others.

[Marianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is very very English and American, incredibly overweighted by men, and for the most part interesting but forgettable (even where they are letter writers I love, they weren't necessarily the letters I would've chosen to include). I have reached the conclusion that while I do love books of letters, I strongly prefer reading all the letters I can by or to ONE person or a closely connected pair or set of people, not the anthologies. But! There were some true gems and one of the very last letters was among the best and also led me to buy a book. (Warner's biography of T. H. White.) So I'm glad I stuck with it.

[Ariella Yendler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable but not a veritable treasure trove like Faber's Book of Letters. Did have some fantastic letters, like Samuel Clemens!

[Lightreads · Rating 2 out of 5]

*yawn*. Also, seriously. If one more person bemoans the end of letters and fails to grasp that the electronic revolution is also a communications style revolution that has staying power and, you know, interest and merit . . .

[Ruth B · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Clare (in code) from an asylum.