Letters of Note: Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience

Written by Shaun Usher

Narrated by Shaun Usher, Alan Cumming, Toby Jones and 14 more

Letters of Note, the book based on the beloved website of the same name, became an instant classic in 2013, selling hundreds of thousands of copies. This new edition sees the collection of the world’s most entertaining, inspiring and
unusual letters updated with sixteen riveting new missives and a new introduction from curator Shaun Usher.

Includes letters by Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, Leonardo da Vinci, Patrick Leigh Fermor, Tom Hanks, Katharine Hepburn, Shirley Jackson, Dorothy Parker, Rainer Maria Rilke and many more

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 23, 2021
• ISBN: 9781705043363

Reviews for Letters of Note

[helenliz_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This series is always an enjoyable listen. Each letter has a short piece introducing the author and the situation that lead to the letter being written (if in response to a specific event, for instance). The artists vary from the well known to those I've not heard of before. They were all writers, painters, sculptors, so it's not repetitive. Each letter is them read by (usually) an actor, and they bring the letter to life. They are tender, touching, angry, the whole range of human emotions are here. Its interesting how current some of the older items can feel. These are a reliably good selection.

[dragonflydancing · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A fascinating collection of letters by people known and unknown. ancient and modern.Worth a few relaxing hours of reading, and giving an insight into personalities of present renown, and others unknown to the world in general. With an index, if you are searching for a letter by a certain person.

[iudita_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Reading this put me in mourning for the lost art of letter writing. I enjoyed this book so much. I was surprised, amused and moved by it. Every page brought something different. A really lovely book to dip in and out of.

[arewenotben · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A superb collection of correspondence on a whole manner of subjects. Some are very moving (Virginia Woolf's suicide note to her husband destroyed me) and others inspiring and charming. As well as a compendium of great writing it's also a timely reminder of the value in small, thoughtful gestures and the power and truth in emotional honesty, something that's rather lost in these cynical times.

The perfect Christmas present.

[thomaspluck · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

a beautiful and important book that I'm glad to have funded. took me too long to read it. but it's worth savoring.

[pivic-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

There are a lot of interesting letters quoted here. To me, the best ones are those that are not intended for a wider audience. All letters carry an introduction by the editor, e.g. this one:

Letter No. 006 BILL HICKS ON FREEDOM OF SPEECH BILL HICKS to A PRIEST June 8th, 1993 As an outspoken stand-up comedian with strong, unbending views on the most divisive of subjects, the late Bill Hicks was no stranger to controversy during his all-too-brief career. In May 1993, less than a year before he succumbed to pancreatic cancer at the age of 32, a live recording of Hicks’s Revelations show was broadcast on television in the UK. Shortly afterwards, deeply offended by its “blasphemous” content, a priest wrote to the broadcaster, Channel 4, and complained about the recent screening. After reading the complaint, Hicks, never one to avoid a discussion, replied to the priest directly by letter.

8 June 1993
Dear Sir, After reading your letter expressing your concerns regarding my special ‘Revelations’, I felt duty-bound to respond to you myself in hopes of clarifying my position on the points you brought up, and perhaps enlighten you as to who I really am. Where I come from — America — there exists this wacky concept called ‘freedom of speech’, which many people feel is one of the paramount achievements in mankind’s mental development. I myself am a strong supporter of the ‘Right of freedom of speech’, as I’m sure most people would be if they truly understood the concept. ‘Freedom of speech’ means you support the right of people to say exactly those ideas which you do not agree with. (Otherwise, you don’t believe in ‘freedom of speech’, but rather only those ideas which you believe to be acceptably stated.)

Seeing as how there are so many different beliefs in the world, and as it would be virtually impossible for all of us to agree on any one belief, you may begin to realize just how important an idea like ‘freedom of speech’ really is. The idea basically states ‘while I don’t agree or care for what you are saying, I do support your right to say it, for herein lies true freedom’. You say you found my material ‘offensive’ and ‘blasphemous’. I find it interesting that you feel your beliefs are denigrated or threatened when I’d be willing to bet you’ve never received a single letter complaining about your beliefs, or asking why they are allowed to be. (If you have received such a letter, it definitely did not come from me.)

Furthermore, I imagine a quick perusal of an average week of television programming would reveal many more shows of a religious nature, than one of my shows — which are called ‘specials’ by virtue of the fact that they are very rarely on. All I’m doing in ‘Revelations’ is giving my point of view in my language based on my experiences — much the same way religious broadcasters might organize their programs. While I’ve found many of the religious shows I’ve viewed over the years not to be to my liking, or in line with my own beliefs, I’ve never considered it my place to exert any greater type of censorship than changing the channel, or better yet — turning off the TV completely.

Now, for the part of your letter I found most disturbing. In support of your position of outrage, you posit the hypothetical scenario regarding the possibly ‘angry’ reaction of Muslims to material they might find similarly offensive. Here is my question to you: Are you tacitly condoning the violent terrorism of a handful of thugs to whom the idea of ‘freedom of speech’ and tolerance is perhaps as foreign as Christ’s message itself? If you are somehow implying that their intolerance to contrary beliefs is justifiable, admirable, or perhaps even preferable to one of acceptance and forgiveness, then I wonder what your true beliefs really are. If you had watched my entire show, you would have noticed in my summation of my beliefs the fervent plea to the governments of the world to spend less money on the machinery of war, and more on feeding, clothing, and educating the poor and needy of the world … A not-so-unchristian sentiment at that!

Ultimately, the message in my material is a call for understanding rather than ignorance, peace rather than war, forgiveness rather than condemnation, and love rather than fear. While this message may have understandably been lost on your ears (due to my presentation), I assure you the thousands of people I played to in my tours of the United Kingdom got it. I hope I helped answer some of your questions. Also, I hope you consider this an invitation to keep open the lines of communication. Please feel free to contact me personally with comments, thoughts, or questions, if you so choose. If not, I invite you to enjoy my two upcoming specials entitled ‘Mohammed the TWIT’ and ‘Buddha, you fat PIG’. (JOKE)
Sincerely,
Bill Hicks

And Virginia Woolf's heartbreaking final letter:

Letter No. 010
I CAN’T FIGHT ANY LONGER
VIRGINIA WOOLF to LEONARD WOOLF
March, 1941 By the age of just 22, influential novelist Virginia Woolf had already suffered two nervous breakdowns – brought on, it’s believed, by the deaths of her mother and half-sister in quick succession, and then her father some years later. Unfortunately, the struggle didn’t end there for Virginia and she fought off numerous bouts of depression throughout her lifetime, until the very end. One evening in March 1941, Virginia attempted to end her life by jumping into a river; however, she failed and simply returned home, sodden. Sadly, she persisted, and a few days later, on March 28th 1941, she tried again and this time succeeded in escaping a lifetime of mental illness. On the day of her death, unaware of her whereabouts, Virginia’s husband, Leonard, discovered this heartbreaking letter on their mantelpiece. Her body was found weeks later in the River Ouse, the pockets of her coat filled with heavy rocks.

Tuesday.
Dearest, I feel certain that I am going mad again. I feel we can’t go through another of those terrible times. And I shan’t recover this time. I begin to hear voices, and I can’t concentrate. So I am doing what seems the best thing to do. You have given me the greatest possible happiness. You have been in every way all that anyone could be. I don’t think two people could have been happier till this terrible disease came. I can’t fight any longer. I know that I am spoiling your life, that without me you could work. And you will I know. You see I can’t even write this properly. I can’t read. What I want to say is I owe all the happiness of my life to you. You have been entirely patient with me and incredibly good. I want to say that – everybody knows it. If anybody could have saved me it would have been you. Everything has gone from me but the certainty of your goodness. I can’t go on spoiling your life any longer. I don’t think two people could have been happier than we have been.
V.

There are some letters which are a bit drab, very American in nature—i.e. that display how the editor is an American, by which I mean that he's inward-looking, more than taking in many letters from many cultures—but overall, an interesting book.

[rayub-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A very nice and eclectic collection of letters from all ages.Some are interesting and some are not.

[wenestvedt_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This collection of letters draws on many times and places to select pieces that grab your attention and hold it. Each letter is accompanied by a note providing context; some include both a cleartext version of the letter alongside an image of the original (which is useful when the the original is in Chinese characters, or interesting when it shows the handwriting of a person of note).The letters show how sitting down to compose one's thoughts can be as effective an act as a blow or a speech or a march. The book repays casual browsing just as much as it does for methodical readers who work through cover to cover.What a joy to read! I really recommend this book to anyone who loves words, or books, or writing.

[rosecityreader · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Letters of Note is just as absorbing as Lists of Note, Shaun Usher’s first irresistible compilation of ephemera. Letters is a collection of over 125 facsimiles of correspondences of consequence, usually because a famous person wrote the letter, or because the letter itself is historically important. All are fascinating. My favorite is the note that John F. Kennedy scratched into the shell of a coconut when his WWII boat was hit by a Japanese destroyer and his crew was stranded in the Solomon Islands. He gave the coconut message to island natives to deliver to the PT base at Rendova so he and his crew could be rescued.

[stevesmits · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In this era of evolving electronic media one worries about preserving and retaining personal correspondence. What actually happened to those e-mails on my old computer? How do you retrieve what's on a floppy disc these days? My hard drive has crashed -- oops, should have backed it up. I guess I still like the "shoebox" method of keeping letters. I recently came across letters from the 1820's and 30's in a research project I'm doing for local history and, in truth, there's something thrilling about seeing the handwriting of real people; we connect to them in ways different from reading arid electronic text.This fascinating book gives us interesting letters of note in the handwriting (or typing) of prominent people of many eras. Not only are their thoughts remarkable, there's something about the process of non-digital composition that conveys, in a visceral sense, something deeper about the author. This is the sort of book you keep by your bedside (or wherever) to pick up and savor its delicious contents a letter at a time.

[jbd1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This one was such a delight. I have enjoyed the website for a long time, and agree entirely with the editor that this "eclectic collection of correspondence deserving of a wider audience" is just that. Compulsively readable and very nicely designed, with a good mix of transcription, contextual text, and photographs of the original letters and their writers. A nice mix of authors and subjects, too. Lovely.

[5eva5 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A collection of letters from some famous, some not so famous people, that together form a very different type of history book. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but whatever it was, this book exceed my wildest expectations. Sure, not all entries are riveting, but most of them are, so much so that this year, I bought a copy of this book as a Christmas gift to 9 different people (friends, boss, brother, neighbor) and the feedback I've gotten back is 100% positive and the discussions of the various letters have been very rewarding. Beware that some entries will make you want to read more on their topic, so it may do damage to your (I'm sure already large) wishlist. I was happy to find that there is a second volume (which is now waiting in my bookshelf) and if it is even half as interesting as this, I'm in for another great read.

[sturlington_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Letters of Note is a compilation of interesting letters, plus some context, based on the blog by the same name. I've followed the blog for several years, so it is is a delight to have the more noteworthy letters in book form. The book is large and beautiful, with full-color reproductions of many of the original letters plus transcripts and a bit of information. What a treasure trove to leaf through and discover something you hadn't previously known. Of course, writers are well represented, but so are entertainers, politicians, and scientists, and there are also "letters" of historical note. My main complaint is that the letters don't appear to be organized according to any structure I can discern, so I guess this book is better for browsing than for reading. Overall, a handsome book that would make a thoughtful gift.

[memccauley6 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The first book I have ever found worthy of having on a coffee table. Full of fascinating, funny, heartbreaking, and inspirational letters from across history. You can open it to any page and find something that blows your socks off. And the book itself is a rich, weighty tome, delightful to hold, you know you are picking up something special.

If you don’t read the blog or follow them on Twitter, you really should. The posts always brighten my day. (lettersofnote.com) Who knew young Fidel Castro had such nice handwriting?

[debnance_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I don’t know when I’ve had a better time browsing through a book. It’s a collection of the most interesting letters ever written. It includes some classics (Little Virginia’s letter to Santa Claus! A new poet’s inquisitive letter to Rilke!) and some that were new-to-me, but, if you are like me, you won’t skip over many. It’s a must-read, folks!

[empress8411 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this collection immensely. It's a product of Usher's website of the same name. Reading letters from scientist and actors, queens and presidents, it gave a small glimpse into each of their lives. The format was well-done, with art and, when available, facsimiles of the original letters. For anyone who enjoys the art of letter writing, this is a must-have book.

[neftzger · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is an eclectic and yet incredible collection of actual letters (some photographed so that you can see the handwriting or stationery upon which the letter was written). Some of these letters were written by authors, some by politicians, others were written by famous or notable individuals, such as Albert Einstein.Each of these letters holds unique significance, either because it provides insight into the mind of the writer or to an event/ time in history. For example, Queen Elizabeth shared a recipe with President Eisenhower, showing the level of friendship between these two leaders. Jack Kerouac wrote to Marlon Brando asking him to star in the movie version of On The Road (Brando never wrote back, by the way).I'm not sure how these letters were curated, but this is a very fun read for people who like history or literature.