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Postscript: Life, Love and Loss in Australian Letters
Discover love, creativity, politics, family and more with historically and culturally significant letters from writers such as Jane Austen, Judith Wright, Henry Lawson, Mem Fox and Senator Neville Bonner AO, as well as inspiring new letters from modern Australians like Kate Forsyth, David Brooks, Maggie Mackellar, Ranjana Srivastava and Sam Wallman.
The National Library of Australia holds millions of letters in its collections: love letters, reports on scientific discoveries, impassioned pleas, newsy notes about the week that’s been, responses from politicians to members of the electorate, letters to the editor and more.
We’ve selected some remarkable letters from those millions and passed them on as inspiration to a new set of writers to pen their own.
The original letters may have shaped history, confessed love, covered philosophical quandaries like aging and creative work, or given an insight into someone’s life. The modern letters do the same. By turns moving, funny and challenging, this is a collection of letters that will engage and enlarge your sense of empathy—and may inspire you to pick up the pen yourself.
The National Library of Australia holds millions of letters in its collections: love letters, reports on scientific discoveries, impassioned pleas, newsy notes about the week that’s been, responses from politicians to members of the electorate, letters to the editor and more.
We’ve selected some remarkable letters from those millions and passed them on as inspiration to a new set of writers to pen their own.
The original letters may have shaped history, confessed love, covered philosophical quandaries like aging and creative work, or given an insight into someone’s life. The modern letters do the same. By turns moving, funny and challenging, this is a collection of letters that will engage and enlarge your sense of empathy—and may inspire you to pick up the pen yourself.
128 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 28, 2026
Postscript - Life, Love and Loss in Australian Letters contains a small collection of letters from the archives held by the National Library of Australia and is just a tiny sample of the millions of letters in their extensive collection. A variety of letters have been chosen covering a breadth of topics and were given to contemporary writers who were asked to use them as an inspiration to respond. They each did so by writing their own letter to a recipient of their choice and these were then grouped together in chapters.
In a tribute to the book I've decided to write my review in the form of a letter.
Letter to NLA
Dear National Library of Australia,
I haven't visited any of your four sites, yet I greatly admire the important work you do to preserve Australia's culture and history. I've long been a lover of letters and snail mail since I wrote in to Dolly Magazine as a teenager asking for a pen pal. I enjoyed reading your latest publication Postscript - Life, Love and Loss in Australian Letters and wanted to share my thoughts.
My favourite letter in this collection was the one from 17 year old student John Ian Wing to the Chairman of the Games Committee in charge of the 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics. In his letter, John praises the friendliness of Melbourne people and suggests a march during the closing ceremony that is completely different to the one that took place during the opening ceremony. He proposes the athletes march as one nation, walking freely and waving to the public. In that way, John observes that 'war, politics and nationality will be all forgotten' and the whole world could be made as one nation creating 'a great occasion for everybody and no one would forget it'.
The Chairman loved the idea and John's suggestion was immediately adopted, creating a new Olympic tradition that we continue to enjoy today. I especially loved John's endearing diagram of how it could work.
Shelley Ware is an author, media presenter, educator and Mum and she was paired with this letter, choosing to write a letter to her son. In it she draws on John's vision for unity in a divided time to her son's moral compass and search for truth beyond the headlines expressed in his artwork. This was a terrific pairing and I really enjoyed it.
Another stand out was the letter from Sir John Monash in 1906 to his 13 year old daughter, narrating almost every aspect of her upcoming journey by train and then boat from Spencer Street Station (now Southern Cross Station) to the property of Canally on the Murray River.
Today you might consider his approach evidence of overparenting, but it's clear he loves her dearly and I couldn't help smiling at his advice for when she boards the boat on the Murray River:
"On settling down on the boat, I should advise you to to go bed at once, because you will, no doubt, be very tired, and the scenery is not very interesting for the first few miles. So you had better go to bed comfortably before the boat starts and do not stop up yarning, but get to sleep and tell the Stewardess to wake you quite early - say 7 a.m. - so that you can enjoy the beautiful river scenery for an hour or two before reaching Windomal." Page 26
His letter runs for pages and it made me wonder how many times he'd taken that trip but I didn't see the relevance of the two letters that followed by the late Judith Wright. While detailing the birth of her child Meredith and her subsequent recovery in hospital, I wasn't entirely sure how that related to a parent separated from their child or preparing a child for a life changing journey. However the letter from Maggie Mackellar to her adult daughter certainly embraced the spirit of the letter from Monash in her well expressed anxiety around her daughter travelling far away and the memories of her childhood the absence created.
It must have been difficult for your staff to create a longlist of letters for this project from your extensive archives. Where to start? How long did it take? I've heard from reliable sources that your staff chose letters of interest based on the identity of the sender or the recipient, the story or the writing itself. Then a generous list of potential respondents was collated, drawn from those with an existing relationship to the library, visiting writers or those who might have an interesting angle on a response.
I was pleased to see one of my favourite Australian authors included, Kate Forsyth and enjoyed her response to Jane Austen's letter. I wonder, was she able to view the original in person or online? I bet she would have been thrilled to see it.
I had fun devising my own shortlist of modern authors I'd love to see in a letter writing project like this and the fact that Postscript comes in at <130 pages, surely means there was room for more? Perhaps some of the invitees were overwhelmed by the magnitude of the brief and suffered a touch of analysis paralysis. I did find myself wishing for contributions from more well known Australian authors, as you know, we certainly have a plethora of Australian talent in that regard. Or, I fancy you might be considering a second edition, although you'll have to come up with a better title than Post Postscript; I don't think that'll catch on.
Let me know if you want to see my shortlist of modern respondents, but in the meantime, congrats on an engaging collection.
Yours Affectionately,
Carpe Librum!
* Copy courtesy of National Library of Australia Publishing *
In a tribute to the book I've decided to write my review in the form of a letter.
Letter to NLA
Dear National Library of Australia,
I haven't visited any of your four sites, yet I greatly admire the important work you do to preserve Australia's culture and history. I've long been a lover of letters and snail mail since I wrote in to Dolly Magazine as a teenager asking for a pen pal. I enjoyed reading your latest publication Postscript - Life, Love and Loss in Australian Letters and wanted to share my thoughts.
My favourite letter in this collection was the one from 17 year old student John Ian Wing to the Chairman of the Games Committee in charge of the 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics. In his letter, John praises the friendliness of Melbourne people and suggests a march during the closing ceremony that is completely different to the one that took place during the opening ceremony. He proposes the athletes march as one nation, walking freely and waving to the public. In that way, John observes that 'war, politics and nationality will be all forgotten' and the whole world could be made as one nation creating 'a great occasion for everybody and no one would forget it'.
The Chairman loved the idea and John's suggestion was immediately adopted, creating a new Olympic tradition that we continue to enjoy today. I especially loved John's endearing diagram of how it could work.
Shelley Ware is an author, media presenter, educator and Mum and she was paired with this letter, choosing to write a letter to her son. In it she draws on John's vision for unity in a divided time to her son's moral compass and search for truth beyond the headlines expressed in his artwork. This was a terrific pairing and I really enjoyed it.
Another stand out was the letter from Sir John Monash in 1906 to his 13 year old daughter, narrating almost every aspect of her upcoming journey by train and then boat from Spencer Street Station (now Southern Cross Station) to the property of Canally on the Murray River.
Today you might consider his approach evidence of overparenting, but it's clear he loves her dearly and I couldn't help smiling at his advice for when she boards the boat on the Murray River:
"On settling down on the boat, I should advise you to to go bed at once, because you will, no doubt, be very tired, and the scenery is not very interesting for the first few miles. So you had better go to bed comfortably before the boat starts and do not stop up yarning, but get to sleep and tell the Stewardess to wake you quite early - say 7 a.m. - so that you can enjoy the beautiful river scenery for an hour or two before reaching Windomal." Page 26
His letter runs for pages and it made me wonder how many times he'd taken that trip but I didn't see the relevance of the two letters that followed by the late Judith Wright. While detailing the birth of her child Meredith and her subsequent recovery in hospital, I wasn't entirely sure how that related to a parent separated from their child or preparing a child for a life changing journey. However the letter from Maggie Mackellar to her adult daughter certainly embraced the spirit of the letter from Monash in her well expressed anxiety around her daughter travelling far away and the memories of her childhood the absence created.
It must have been difficult for your staff to create a longlist of letters for this project from your extensive archives. Where to start? How long did it take? I've heard from reliable sources that your staff chose letters of interest based on the identity of the sender or the recipient, the story or the writing itself. Then a generous list of potential respondents was collated, drawn from those with an existing relationship to the library, visiting writers or those who might have an interesting angle on a response.
I was pleased to see one of my favourite Australian authors included, Kate Forsyth and enjoyed her response to Jane Austen's letter. I wonder, was she able to view the original in person or online? I bet she would have been thrilled to see it.
I had fun devising my own shortlist of modern authors I'd love to see in a letter writing project like this and the fact that Postscript comes in at <130 pages, surely means there was room for more? Perhaps some of the invitees were overwhelmed by the magnitude of the brief and suffered a touch of analysis paralysis. I did find myself wishing for contributions from more well known Australian authors, as you know, we certainly have a plethora of Australian talent in that regard. Or, I fancy you might be considering a second edition, although you'll have to come up with a better title than Post Postscript; I don't think that'll catch on.
Let me know if you want to see my shortlist of modern respondents, but in the meantime, congrats on an engaging collection.
Yours Affectionately,
Carpe Librum!
* Copy courtesy of National Library of Australia Publishing *
August 31, 2026
POSTSCRIPT: Life, Love and Loss in Australian Letters (National Library of Australia 2026) by various contributors is a moving, tender, curious and enlightening collection of old letters found in the archives, each with a response (inspired by either content, tone or emotion) by a contemporary writer. The effect is a lovely combination of days past, when letters were handwritten and often weeks or even months in the delivery, and today, with instantaneous emails or quirky or heartfelt letters written to loved ones or perhaps even those long dead.
Exploring themes of love, loss, health, politics, the environment, individual rights and responsibilities, creativity and family, each letter says so much about the sender and the receiver. The original older letters are all available for viewing through the National Library archives. The more recent responses are often funny, poignant or nostalgic, as today’s writers read the words of those long gone and react in their own interesting ways.
The original letters include those from Jane Austen, Judith Wright, Henry Lawson, Mem Fox, Neville Bonner and Adela Pankhurst. The respondents include contemporary literary award-winners and social commentators such as Frank Bongiorno, Kate Forsyth, the always hilarious Robert Skinner, Michael Winkler and Maggie Mackellar, to name only a few.
Chosen from millions of archival letters, the original missives evoke times and places long past, with their authors denoting moments of significant national or international importance, world events, social change, or merely the day-to-day minutia of living. Important themes such as relationships and reconciliation are echoed in both the older and newer letters.
One aspect I found particularly interesting is that the original letter writers wrote with only their singular audience in mind – their friend or child, their colleague or sibling. Whereas the modern responses are crafted very much with the view they will be shared widely through the vehicle of this book. Consequently, the earlier letters are often more spontaneous and casual, with less attention to form, but the responses by contemporary authors are thoughtful, well-crafted and designed with a wider audience in mind.
It’s also fascinating how the contemporary writers were each drawn to respond to a specific letter and how often the subjects they chose to write about echoed or aligned with the original missives.
A slim book of treasures, POSTSCRIPT will appeal to anyone who loves epistolary correspondence, history, passionate personal thoughts put on paper, or the lovely symmetry between something penned a hundred years ago or more, and a response composed recently. Fascinating and eerily haunting.
Exploring themes of love, loss, health, politics, the environment, individual rights and responsibilities, creativity and family, each letter says so much about the sender and the receiver. The original older letters are all available for viewing through the National Library archives. The more recent responses are often funny, poignant or nostalgic, as today’s writers read the words of those long gone and react in their own interesting ways.
The original letters include those from Jane Austen, Judith Wright, Henry Lawson, Mem Fox, Neville Bonner and Adela Pankhurst. The respondents include contemporary literary award-winners and social commentators such as Frank Bongiorno, Kate Forsyth, the always hilarious Robert Skinner, Michael Winkler and Maggie Mackellar, to name only a few.
Chosen from millions of archival letters, the original missives evoke times and places long past, with their authors denoting moments of significant national or international importance, world events, social change, or merely the day-to-day minutia of living. Important themes such as relationships and reconciliation are echoed in both the older and newer letters.
One aspect I found particularly interesting is that the original letter writers wrote with only their singular audience in mind – their friend or child, their colleague or sibling. Whereas the modern responses are crafted very much with the view they will be shared widely through the vehicle of this book. Consequently, the earlier letters are often more spontaneous and casual, with less attention to form, but the responses by contemporary authors are thoughtful, well-crafted and designed with a wider audience in mind.
It’s also fascinating how the contemporary writers were each drawn to respond to a specific letter and how often the subjects they chose to write about echoed or aligned with the original missives.
A slim book of treasures, POSTSCRIPT will appeal to anyone who loves epistolary correspondence, history, passionate personal thoughts put on paper, or the lovely symmetry between something penned a hundred years ago or more, and a response composed recently. Fascinating and eerily haunting.
August 2, 2026
I really can't remember the last proper letter I received from a real person, as distinct from an optometrist reminding me to make an appointment or a real estate agent encouraging me to put my house on the market. It has been a very long time. For a while, the Christmas catch-up letter included with a Christmas card was popular, and I really quite liked receiving them. But as for receiving a letter from a friend for no particular reason - I haven't received one for a long time....
Postscript is a selection of letters from the National Library's huge collection of letters. The letters were then taken up by present-writers, who were asked to choose one of those selected letters and, in response, write a new letter, addressed to whomever they chose, in some way inspired by the original letter from the Library's collection. Most of the original letters are Australian- although there is a letter from Jane Austen to her sister Cassandra- and the majority of them date from the 20th century. Of course, there's an imbalance here in that the authors of the original letter could have had no idea that their letter would survive to appear in a book decades later, whereas the current-day authors are quite consciously crafting a letter for publication. Each dyad or triad of letters has a short introduction, explaining who the authors are, and giving a little bit of context to the letter.
When I first heard about this book, I was a bit ambivalent about it, thinking that it would just be a collection of letters. But I really enjoyed it: working out what the links were between the two letters chosen; quite touched by the emotion, often quite repressed, in the older letters that is more openly expressed in the current-day ones; and gaining a sneak peek into the behind-the-scenes life of a famous person. What worked best for me was that it is the perfect book for dipping into, perhaps last thing at night, when you want something to read but don't want to embark on something lengthy that requires concentration. It's a very human book, showing communication in an intentional but not self-conscious way in the original letters, and the imagination and emotional sensitivity of the current-day writers in responding to them.
For my complete review please visit: https://residentjudge.com/2026/08/02/...
Review copy through Quickmark Media.
Postscript is a selection of letters from the National Library's huge collection of letters. The letters were then taken up by present-writers, who were asked to choose one of those selected letters and, in response, write a new letter, addressed to whomever they chose, in some way inspired by the original letter from the Library's collection. Most of the original letters are Australian- although there is a letter from Jane Austen to her sister Cassandra- and the majority of them date from the 20th century. Of course, there's an imbalance here in that the authors of the original letter could have had no idea that their letter would survive to appear in a book decades later, whereas the current-day authors are quite consciously crafting a letter for publication. Each dyad or triad of letters has a short introduction, explaining who the authors are, and giving a little bit of context to the letter.
When I first heard about this book, I was a bit ambivalent about it, thinking that it would just be a collection of letters. But I really enjoyed it: working out what the links were between the two letters chosen; quite touched by the emotion, often quite repressed, in the older letters that is more openly expressed in the current-day ones; and gaining a sneak peek into the behind-the-scenes life of a famous person. What worked best for me was that it is the perfect book for dipping into, perhaps last thing at night, when you want something to read but don't want to embark on something lengthy that requires concentration. It's a very human book, showing communication in an intentional but not self-conscious way in the original letters, and the imagination and emotional sensitivity of the current-day writers in responding to them.
For my complete review please visit: https://residentjudge.com/2026/08/02/...
Review copy through Quickmark Media.
May 30, 2026
Reviewed by Nan van Dissel for the National Library of Australia and Bluewolf Reviews.
It’s a rare occasion when a letter appears in our letterbox; according to Australia Post only three percent of their business relates to letter mail, most of that is official mail. A personal letter or card is generally gratefully received as it lifts the receivers’ spirit; it indicates that someone has given them thought and dedicated time to put these thoughts on paper. Some express love while others update the reader about recent family events; all are individual but relatable.
Spanning over 200 years, the National Library of Australia holds millions of letters in its collection; until now many have never been seen. Publisher Lauren Smith and her NLA team have carefully selected the best letters; those that give the reader a sense of how much they have in common with the writer. Some are written by famous authors such as Jane Austin while others are by lesser-known individuals, such as John Wing whose suggestion about the departure of athletes at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic is still practiced today.
Each chapter provides the reader with the selected letter, the background of its writer and of the responder; Lauren Smith had invited contemporary Australian writers to compose new letters in response to the chosen ones; a postscript with a modern twist. This combination of original and new letter engages the readers and may even inspire them to drop a letter in the post to a loved one.
Hopefully, this collection will lead to the rediscovery of the lost art of letter writing.
It’s a rare occasion when a letter appears in our letterbox; according to Australia Post only three percent of their business relates to letter mail, most of that is official mail. A personal letter or card is generally gratefully received as it lifts the receivers’ spirit; it indicates that someone has given them thought and dedicated time to put these thoughts on paper. Some express love while others update the reader about recent family events; all are individual but relatable.
Spanning over 200 years, the National Library of Australia holds millions of letters in its collection; until now many have never been seen. Publisher Lauren Smith and her NLA team have carefully selected the best letters; those that give the reader a sense of how much they have in common with the writer. Some are written by famous authors such as Jane Austin while others are by lesser-known individuals, such as John Wing whose suggestion about the departure of athletes at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic is still practiced today.
Each chapter provides the reader with the selected letter, the background of its writer and of the responder; Lauren Smith had invited contemporary Australian writers to compose new letters in response to the chosen ones; a postscript with a modern twist. This combination of original and new letter engages the readers and may even inspire them to drop a letter in the post to a loved one.
Hopefully, this collection will lead to the rediscovery of the lost art of letter writing.
May 19, 2026
The National Library of Australia holds millions of letters and has selected a small number to publish. For each of the letters from the historical collection, contemporary authors were invited to select one and pen a response of their own. All 33 letter writers are listed on the cover of this slim volume.
Authors include Jane Austen, Henry Lawson and Mem Fox. Some of the authors are virtually unknown but their letters are important. It’s a thought-provoking collection covering a wide range of topics and emotions. I just wish it was longer.
See the full review at: https://www.queenslandreviewerscollec...
Authors include Jane Austen, Henry Lawson and Mem Fox. Some of the authors are virtually unknown but their letters are important. It’s a thought-provoking collection covering a wide range of topics and emotions. I just wish it was longer.
See the full review at: https://www.queenslandreviewerscollec...
June 27, 2026
Old letters fill me with wonder, that window into the past through the words of people sharing news with others within an intimate space.
This slim book contains a small selection of letters plucked out of the millions held within the archives of The National Library of Australia.
The historical letters are accompanied by contemporary letters written specifically for the book and while I appreciate the intent behind this, I was less interested in these letters than the historical ones. For me, having more of the historical letters would have been preferable as the ones I read left me wanting for more.
Postscript was a nice book to pick up though and while away some time with. I do miss the days of a long-awaited letter dropping into the mailbox, thick with news.
This slim book contains a small selection of letters plucked out of the millions held within the archives of The National Library of Australia.
The historical letters are accompanied by contemporary letters written specifically for the book and while I appreciate the intent behind this, I was less interested in these letters than the historical ones. For me, having more of the historical letters would have been preferable as the ones I read left me wanting for more.
Postscript was a nice book to pick up though and while away some time with. I do miss the days of a long-awaited letter dropping into the mailbox, thick with news.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews