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 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."—