To the letter : a celebration of the lost art of letter writing

Summary: An ode to the dwindling art of letter writing explores its potential salvation in the digital age, chronicling the history of letter writing as reflected by love letters, chain mail, and business correspondence, while surveying the role that letters have played as literary devices.

Record details

ISBN: 9781592408351 (hc.)
Physical Description: print
464 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm
Publisher: New York, New York : Gotham, [2013]

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliography (pages 446-449) and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

The magic of letters -- From Vindolanda, Greetings -- The consolations of Cicero, Seneca and Pliny the Younger -- Love in its earliest forms -- How to write the perfect letter, Part 1 -- Neither snow nor rain nor the flatness of Norfolk -- How to write the perfect letter, Part 2 -- Letters for sale -- Why Jane Austen's letters are so dull (and other postal problems solved) -- A letter feels like immortality -- How to write the perfect letter, Part 3 -- More letters for sale -- Love in its later forms -- The modern master -- Inbox -- Epilogue: Dear reader.