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Love Letters of Great Women
From the private papers of Anne Boleyn and Emily Dickinson to those of Empress Josephine and Queen Victoria, Love Letters of Great Women is an anthology of some of the most romantic letters in history. As a companion to Love Letters of Great Men , this collection gives the other side of the the secret hopes and lives of some of the greatest women in history, from writers and artists to politicians and queens. Includes letters Anne Boleyn * Edith Wharton * Mary Wordsworth * Nell Gwyn (mistress of Charles II) * Queen Victoria * the Empress Josephine * Mary Wollstonecraft * Katherine Mansfield * George Sand Praise for Love Letters of Great Men : `The most romantic book ever` Daily Mail `Inspired by the Sex and the City movie... Famous men caught with pen in hand and heart in mouth` The Times
159 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
November 30, 2017
Umas mais divertidas, outras mais lamechas, ou ainda dramáticas, ou melancólicas, ou um nadinha ousadas ...
Têm em comum a entrega emocional no momento da escrita, o capricho na criatividade literária, o empenho em fazer das palavras testemunhas dos sentimentos.
Algumas destas mulheres eram-me desconhecidas. Quase todas teriam permanecido no anonimato se não tivessem casado com homens, ou gerado filhos homens, que por diversas razões marcaram momentos na História.
Independentemente do teor destas cartas, todas foram escritas por mulheres corajosas, mulheres resilientes, mulheres que ficando na sombra deram um valioso contributo para o sucesso dos seus homens. Algumas delas foram mesmo pioneiras e alcançaram sucesso profissional ao ousarem desafiar e quebrar as regras sociais castradoras da liberdade feminina na época em que viveram.
Têm em comum a entrega emocional no momento da escrita, o capricho na criatividade literária, o empenho em fazer das palavras testemunhas dos sentimentos.
Algumas destas mulheres eram-me desconhecidas. Quase todas teriam permanecido no anonimato se não tivessem casado com homens, ou gerado filhos homens, que por diversas razões marcaram momentos na História.
Independentemente do teor destas cartas, todas foram escritas por mulheres corajosas, mulheres resilientes, mulheres que ficando na sombra deram um valioso contributo para o sucesso dos seus homens. Algumas delas foram mesmo pioneiras e alcançaram sucesso profissional ao ousarem desafiar e quebrar as regras sociais castradoras da liberdade feminina na época em que viveram.
November 16, 2020
One day I’m gonna write my future man (whoever that lucky guy will be) a very emotional and beautifully written letter like these great women has with such wit and emotions and I hope my man won’t be dumb and appreciate my work and we’ll live happily ever after.
October 15, 2017
P. 12- "Para mim, o que salta à vista nesta colecção é a resiliência destas mulheres face a dificuldades que pareciam ser insuperáveis: a sua bravura, o seu estoicismo, a sua sagacidade, o seu charme e a sua generosidade. O amor aqui escrito surge sob várias formas - tolerante, iludido, ambíguo, ambicioso, egoísta, erótico, fiel e louco - mas é amor, e um legado para amar.
Ursula Doyle"
P. 73- "Esconde a tua alma de mim, para que possa acreditar sempre que é linda."
[Carta de George Sand, pseudónimo de Amandine Dupin, a Pietro Pagello, 10 de Julho de 1834]
Ursula Doyle"
P. 73- "Esconde a tua alma de mim, para que possa acreditar sempre que é linda."
[Carta de George Sand, pseudónimo de Amandine Dupin, a Pietro Pagello, 10 de Julho de 1834]
August 17, 2018
If nothing this book transports the reader to a different day and age when love was putting pen to paper and letting the emotions flow. Perhaps it is not just the love that the title proposes that the collection of letters is about but rather an elegy to a bygone time and herein lies the pity of losing such a mode of communication which texting and chatting can never be equal to. Perhaps the reader will after reading this grab pen and paper and even if just for once, add to the great worldly collection of love letters by great people.
December 8, 2022
it was great to learn the short life stories of some of the women but the letters without much context didn't cause any excitement (maybe except Rosa Luxemburg)
February 7, 2023
A great number of names who I already knew of as well as discovering those new to me.
February 28, 2010
I have never read Love Letters of Great Men, but when I saw Love Letters of Great Women in the store I really could not pass it up. It was on the table for Valentine's Day. It had a pretty cover. Quite a bit of white space when I was looking for a quick read. And a quick look at the back flap assured me that I would find at least a few good letters in this collection. But what I found wasn't quite what I was expecting. In fact, I think it was better.
I was looking for a gushy romantic collection of letters from women to their loved ones, but many of the letters in this book are business like. The women in this collection might be in love, but they are also serious, assertive women with thought provoking ideas. Ursula Doyle's introductions to each woman left me asking thousands of questions and wondering why I had never heard of some of these women before.
Read the rest at English Major's Junk Food
I was looking for a gushy romantic collection of letters from women to their loved ones, but many of the letters in this book are business like. The women in this collection might be in love, but they are also serious, assertive women with thought provoking ideas. Ursula Doyle's introductions to each woman left me asking thousands of questions and wondering why I had never heard of some of these women before.
Read the rest at English Major's Junk Food
February 26, 2015
Mostly from British women, this small book includes short biographical notes and sampling of letters from 1399 to 1917. We know most of their names, but the biographies made me want to investigate all 11 of these lives in much greater detail. The letters were incredibly fawning and saccharine. Perhaps we need a bit of relief from our e-mail culture - who knows. I do wish some of the men's responses were included.
As well as some lesser known women, the letter writers include: Anne Boleyn, Emily Dickinson, Edith Wharton, Mary Wordsworth, Nell Gwyn,Claire Clairmont, Queen Victoria, Empress Josephine, Mary Wollstonecraft, George Sand, & Katherine Mansfield.
A fun read.
As well as some lesser known women, the letter writers include: Anne Boleyn, Emily Dickinson, Edith Wharton, Mary Wordsworth, Nell Gwyn,Claire Clairmont, Queen Victoria, Empress Josephine, Mary Wollstonecraft, George Sand, & Katherine Mansfield.
A fun read.
December 30, 2020
Konačno sam pročitala celu uprkos tome što je imam već godinama. Uživala sam u pismima različitih dama uz to sam se edukovala tražeći svaku od njih (barem one koje nisam znala) i upoznala sa njihvim likovima. Divno je videti koliko se stilovi u različitim dekadama razlikuju i kakve su slobode bile kad dozvoljene. Poslednji "specijal" - pisma iz velikog rata su meni negde bila i najdraža jer baš lepo daju uvid na to vreme i kako se tad živelo kod onih koji su ostajali kući. Divna knjiga zaista.
June 29, 2020
I wasn't terribly compelled by many of the letters, and frankly a lot of the biographies Doyle included were poorly written and sometimes focused more on their husbands or lovers instead of the "great" women mentioned in the title.
December 8, 2019
This book was very good, its more of a 3,5 actually. I stick with 4 stars bc the first half I kinda though the letters were a little bit cold and lacking the love it had in the male version of this book. But the last ones were so beautiful and full of passion, I was mesmerize while reading it.
My favorites were Rosa Luxemburgo, Kate Mansfield, Alexandra empress of Russia, George Sand, the ones from the great war, the Bronte sisters mother and John William's wife. This women wrote such lovely, passionate, beautiful words, and some of them were such strong woman, this letters are full of beautiful and lovely quotes.
But the strongest point of the book is the fact that I didn't knew many of those woman, different from the male version, and I love how they present the person before the letters, telling a little bit of their stories and how they met the man, and WHY they were important. These womens were amazing!
I recommend it, a good read.
My favorites were Rosa Luxemburgo, Kate Mansfield, Alexandra empress of Russia, George Sand, the ones from the great war, the Bronte sisters mother and John William's wife. This women wrote such lovely, passionate, beautiful words, and some of them were such strong woman, this letters are full of beautiful and lovely quotes.
But the strongest point of the book is the fact that I didn't knew many of those woman, different from the male version, and I love how they present the person before the letters, telling a little bit of their stories and how they met the man, and WHY they were important. These womens were amazing!
I recommend it, a good read.
June 23, 2017
จดหมายรักทั้งหมดในเล่มนี้
เป็นเพียงจดหมายหนึ่ง หรือสองสามฉบับ
ในจำนวนจดหมายทั้งหมดของเจ้าของ เป็นนับร้อยนับพันฉบับ
ซึ่งเมื่อยกมาฉบับเดียว
เราจึงเห็นเรื่องราวเพียงจุดเดียวในชีวิตของเขาหรือเธอคนนั้น
ซึ่งถ้าเป็นคนที่เราไม่รู้จัก (ซึ่งส่วนมากก็ไม่รู้จักน่ะแหละ)
มันก็จะไม่ค่อยอินไปกับพวกเธอเท่าไร ไม่ค่อยเข้าใจสถานการณ์นั้นๆ
(แม้จะมีประวัติย่อๆ ให้ไว้ก่อนแล้ว)
แต่โดยรวมๆ เราชอบเล่มของผู้หญิงมากกว่าผู้ชายค่ะ
รู้สึกว่าจดหมายของผู้ชายมีแต่หวานเลี่ยนๆ
ส่วนของผู้หญิง มีเลือดเนื้อ มีชีวิตกว่ากันเยอะ
ดูจริงจัง จับต้องได้มากกว่า
เป็นเพียงจดหมายหนึ่ง หรือสองสามฉบับ
ในจำนวนจดหมายทั้งหมดของเจ้าของ เป็นนับร้อยนับพันฉบับ
ซึ่งเมื่อยกมาฉบับเดียว
เราจึงเห็นเรื่องราวเพียงจุดเดียวในชีวิตของเขาหรือเธอคนนั้น
ซึ่งถ้าเป็นคนที่เราไม่รู้จัก (ซึ่งส่วนมากก็ไม่รู้จักน่ะแหละ)
มันก็จะไม่ค่อยอินไปกับพวกเธอเท่าไร ไม่ค่อยเข้าใจสถานการณ์นั้นๆ
(แม้จะมีประวัติย่อๆ ให้ไว้ก่อนแล้ว)
แต่โดยรวมๆ เราชอบเล่มของผู้หญิงมากกว่าผู้ชายค่ะ
รู้สึกว่าจดหมายของผู้ชายมีแต่หวานเลี่ยนๆ
ส่วนของผู้หญิง มีเลือดเนื้อ มีชีวิตกว่ากันเยอะ
ดูจริงจัง จับต้องได้มากกว่า
February 27, 2022
Love Letters?
I found the history behind the letters very interesting but I didn't think many of the letters were love letters per se. The most romantic letters in my opinion are the ones of George Sand & Katherine Mansfield. Many of the letters are just enquiries or even reports. Both Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn had a small amount of love in theirs but the clear love letters for me were those of Sand and Mansfield. However, love is definitely objective and everyone's interpretation of it varies so although it's 3 stars for me... Others may feel it's 5 stars
I found the history behind the letters very interesting but I didn't think many of the letters were love letters per se. The most romantic letters in my opinion are the ones of George Sand & Katherine Mansfield. Many of the letters are just enquiries or even reports. Both Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn had a small amount of love in theirs but the clear love letters for me were those of Sand and Mansfield. However, love is definitely objective and everyone's interpretation of it varies so although it's 3 stars for me... Others may feel it's 5 stars
September 5, 2018
This is one of those books where I am neither here nor there with. I believe it’s one of those types of books of love letters where you will extract different things at different moments of your life.
I did love the letters from Katherine of Aragon to Henry VIII
I did love the letters from Katherine of Aragon to Henry VIII
December 26, 2020
A well organised and well written book. It is a great collection and the context given for each letter is the perfect amount.
August 14, 2022
This was simply joyful.
November 10, 2022
İnsan o zamanda ki aşkları bu zaman da duyup yaşamak istiyor gerçekten güzel bir kitaptı çok hareketli aksiyonlu kitap sonrası soluk almak için ideal kitabı bulursanız tavsiye ederim.
December 15, 2022
Thought the title oversold the book. Ought to been better entitled Some Letters by Some Women.
December 30, 2020
A ideia do livro é bem interessante, mas a tradução e a edição não estão boas.
March 12, 2017
Had a lot of letters some were interesting to read.
April 3, 2013
I bought this book in December during the busy Christmas season. It was a crowded house during December as my grandparents had come stay with us. My family decided to go the movies and I decided to skip the movies and go shopping instead. I wanted a little time to myself. So, I wandered around the shops and ate lunch. After going around the mall a few times I decided to buy some books from Books4less which is a bargain bookstore. Books4less buy surplus books from publishers and sell the books at bargain prices. Sometimes all the books in the store are $3 or $5 and most are popular titles. One time I saw the entire Twilight series there for 5 dollars each! Anyways, I bought Love Letters of Great Women for $3.
Love Letters of Great Women is a collection of real letters from famous historical ladies. The book is a slim book with 159 pages so if you’re a quick reader, you could probably read the book in ten minutes. Some of the letters were written from a hundred years ago. It’s not common for women’s letters to be valued so much. The letters included in the collection are from twenty eight women, such as Anne Boleyn, Abigail Adams, Mary Wollstonecraft and Queen Victoria. Most of the women are all of European descent, it would have been nice if the collection were more multicultural.
The letters were preserved because most of the women were noble women, married or associated to important men of the time. Marriage was very important to women in the past as all they were expected to be were wives and mothers. A man was head of the household and his wife was his property. So, women had to think carefully about marriage because in most cases divorce was not an option. The letters included in the books are from different points of the women’s lives, from courtships, breakups and marriage. All the letters have the history of the woman included at the start of the chapter and where they are in their lives.
I found some of the letters difficult to understand as they were written in an old fashioned way. I didn’t understand some of the context as the letters were not intended for me. Letters are informal and private, sometimes with things that only the intended audience understand. I know that if anyone were to read the letters between my friends and I that they wouldn’t understand everything. I also think the book should have included the letters that the women were responding to or responses of the men to their letters so I could gain a better understanding.
I liked reading the backgrounds of the women more than I liked reading their letters. Most of the women defied the social norms of their time to follow their hearts. Some wrote books or articles, others lived out of wedlock with their lovers and had children by them. All the women were intelligent and brave. My favorite letter was from Anne Boleyn to Henry VIII. Henry VIII was an English king from the fifteenth century who was famous for being married six times because he desperately needed a male heir to the throne. Anne Boleyn was Henry’s second wife. She failed to produce a male heir and was falsely accused of adultery and witchcraft. The letter included in the book is from when Anne was imprisoned awaiting for her fate. In the letter, she makes reassurances to Henry of her faithfulness to him, begs for a fair trial and slightly chastises him because they both know the charges against her are untrue. In the end, she got beheaded so not a happy ending.
I learnt that reading other people’s love letters is not for me. I didn’t like some of the mushy language that the women used in their letters. Although I understand that it is how people are when they are in love.
Love Letters of Great Women is a collection of real letters from famous historical ladies. The book is a slim book with 159 pages so if you’re a quick reader, you could probably read the book in ten minutes. Some of the letters were written from a hundred years ago. It’s not common for women’s letters to be valued so much. The letters included in the collection are from twenty eight women, such as Anne Boleyn, Abigail Adams, Mary Wollstonecraft and Queen Victoria. Most of the women are all of European descent, it would have been nice if the collection were more multicultural.
The letters were preserved because most of the women were noble women, married or associated to important men of the time. Marriage was very important to women in the past as all they were expected to be were wives and mothers. A man was head of the household and his wife was his property. So, women had to think carefully about marriage because in most cases divorce was not an option. The letters included in the books are from different points of the women’s lives, from courtships, breakups and marriage. All the letters have the history of the woman included at the start of the chapter and where they are in their lives.
I found some of the letters difficult to understand as they were written in an old fashioned way. I didn’t understand some of the context as the letters were not intended for me. Letters are informal and private, sometimes with things that only the intended audience understand. I know that if anyone were to read the letters between my friends and I that they wouldn’t understand everything. I also think the book should have included the letters that the women were responding to or responses of the men to their letters so I could gain a better understanding.
I liked reading the backgrounds of the women more than I liked reading their letters. Most of the women defied the social norms of their time to follow their hearts. Some wrote books or articles, others lived out of wedlock with their lovers and had children by them. All the women were intelligent and brave. My favorite letter was from Anne Boleyn to Henry VIII. Henry VIII was an English king from the fifteenth century who was famous for being married six times because he desperately needed a male heir to the throne. Anne Boleyn was Henry’s second wife. She failed to produce a male heir and was falsely accused of adultery and witchcraft. The letter included in the book is from when Anne was imprisoned awaiting for her fate. In the letter, she makes reassurances to Henry of her faithfulness to him, begs for a fair trial and slightly chastises him because they both know the charges against her are untrue. In the end, she got beheaded so not a happy ending.
I learnt that reading other people’s love letters is not for me. I didn’t like some of the mushy language that the women used in their letters. Although I understand that it is how people are when they are in love.
January 9, 2012
Well, not exactly. Have you seen the movie Sex in the City? If you have, you probably saw that scene where Carrie is in bed reading Love Letters of Great Men. I never had the intention of buying it, but when I saw Love Letters II I thought why not & I bought it.
It’s been lying on my bedside table for a long while now & last night I thought it was time to pick it up and start reading it. It’s such an interesting book. Love Letters II is a book filled with romantic love letters of woman (known & unknown) throughout history. There are love letters written by Anne Boleyn, queen Victoria, Emily Dickinson etc. The letters are filled with compassion, secrets, hopes & longings. They take you away for a little while to another world where Internet did not exist & where writing a letter was the most common thing to do if you needed to contact or tell something to someone. My favourite letter is the letter written by Anne Boleyn. She asks for forgiveness, even though she feels like she didn’t do anything wrong. And even after Henry, her husband, put her in jail & feels like she should be punished for what she did, she still loves him. I love that letter!
Love Letters II is a beautiful collection that every romantic person should have on her or his bedside table. And now I need Love Letters of Great Men.
It’s been lying on my bedside table for a long while now & last night I thought it was time to pick it up and start reading it. It’s such an interesting book. Love Letters II is a book filled with romantic love letters of woman (known & unknown) throughout history. There are love letters written by Anne Boleyn, queen Victoria, Emily Dickinson etc. The letters are filled with compassion, secrets, hopes & longings. They take you away for a little while to another world where Internet did not exist & where writing a letter was the most common thing to do if you needed to contact or tell something to someone. My favourite letter is the letter written by Anne Boleyn. She asks for forgiveness, even though she feels like she didn’t do anything wrong. And even after Henry, her husband, put her in jail & feels like she should be punished for what she did, she still loves him. I love that letter!
Love Letters II is a beautiful collection that every romantic person should have on her or his bedside table. And now I need Love Letters of Great Men.
September 18, 2013
This is a lovely collection of letters from famous women (made great by their husbands/marriages/or the children they gave birth to, is the sad fact presented to the reader by the editor) from 1399 up to the First world war. What it does show is how little we've changed really, in our essential ways of loving. In this collection there are exhortations to husbands (Anne Boleyn's to Henry VIII is fantastic), messages of support and strength (Empress Alexandra of Russia to Tsar Nicholas II - and look where that got her!), outpourings of longing and passionate desire (I particularly liked George Sand's letter to Pietro Pagello and her concerns about his animal passion/desire and the fact that they didn't even speak the same langague - still, it didn't stop Jordan and that Argenian bloke...) and messages of grief and despair (Queen Victoria upon losing Prince Albert).
Letters tell us so much about history of the time, but also history as seen from a personal perspective. It's also presented in a beautiful volume with invaluable vignettes about the letter-writers' personal histories.
Letters tell us so much about history of the time, but also history as seen from a personal perspective. It's also presented in a beautiful volume with invaluable vignettes about the letter-writers' personal histories.
February 14, 2013
I was really intrigued by this book because I really like history and I really love literature from the 1800’s, it’s quite different reading fiction from letters –it moves one more because the letters are from real people to real people. I must admit I cried, because some of the letters were so devoted, I laughed a lot of the women wit and I was deeply moved by how miserable some of these women life went. I learned quite a bit about romance and I kinda want to throw it at every guys’ head and shout; “THIS IS HOW YOU GET A GIRL!!” I am actually kind of tempted… I liked it a lot and i learned a lot from it so:
I will recommend this, if you are into history or just generally love classic literature and romance.
I will recommend this, if you are into history or just generally love classic literature and romance.
December 22, 2022
As much as I enjoyed the lay-out of Famous Love Letters, I enjoyed the background of each writer in this book. It allows you to take in the whole person and perhaps place the letter in context. There were a few repeats - but then, this volume contains Emily Dickinson (!), George Sand and Katherine Mansfield, to name just three that I was pleased to discover.
March 14, 2020
It was as good as expected. There are some letters that are just confusing for me, but I feel it is much just a matter of preference. I like the way the writer gives us a background stories of each individuals, so when we get to read the actual letters, they feel more ‘related’ to us. There are some of the background stories that still don’t do enough for me personally to feel the relateness to the letters, but overall a nice job!
September 16, 2011
Very very cute. Some were extremely sweet while others just seemed needy or crazy. Why is that? I thought if this was from a man it would be cute but since a woman's writing it it's kinda pathetic. I guess I'm the pathetic one for thinking that though.
June 26, 2012
Not quite as good as Love letters of Great Men, strangely enough a lot of the letters seemed to be simply letters of great women as opposed to love letters. Again the best section was letters during the Great War.
January 7, 2013
Bu mektuplari yazan kadinlarin etkili ve kendi zmanlarinda buyuk kadinlar oldugu belli, yalniz mektuplarin cogu ask mektubu degildi, en azindan benim bekledigim tarzda olmadigini soyleyebilirim.. Bir de bu mektuplarin sahipleri kocalarini ve sevgililerini aldatmislar, bu ask degil ki..
April 18, 2014
Even though most of the letters are undeniably sweet, what made me down is the history--pre and post marriage--of these women. A good collection but did not coincide well with the author's (forgive the word...) amateur writing with attempts in sarcasm and humor.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews