The letters range from the famous to the quietly heroic. None is more poignant than that written in 1950 by the Czech socialist politician Milada Horakova to her sixteen-year-old daughter. Horakova had been arrested and sentenced to death for treason, and the letter was written the night before her execution. Heartbreaking * * Observer * *
Praise for Shaun Usher: Another mailbag stuffed with funny, heartbreaking and passionate letters . . . engaging, eclectic, geekily and gleefully enthusiastic and laugh-out-loud funny * * The Times * *
Shaun Usher's More Letters of Note mines the archives for more gems of the epistolary arts * * Guardian * *
Funny, tragic, brilliantly incisive, historic, lyrical, romantic and studiedly offensive, this stupendous compendium of letters ancient and modern is my book of the year. You will never tire of it' -- STEPHEN FRY
From the genuinely funny: Marge Simpson duelling with First Lady Barbara Bush to the truly heart-breaking: Julius and Ethel Rosenberg's last goodbye to their children before execution. Usher's book is unlike anything else you have read. After all, where else can you find out why Norman Mailer refused money to his father, or how Janis Joplin felt before breaking America? Exactly * * GQ * *
Funny, shocking and poignant, More Letters of Note must be one of the most entertaining books of the year * * Financial Times * *
Some of the letters will make you laugh, other heartbreaking examples will make you cry * * Independent * *
Reading through them is addictive, like dipping into a bag of variously tempting assorted candies, knowing that the next one will always bring surprise and pleasure. Usher has an evident knack for selecting letters that land with the force of a good short story, with personalities and dramatic arcs emerging swiftly, from just a page or two. Many of the writers are famous people, caught in a moment of accessibility and rawness or off-the-cuff virtuosity * * New Yorker * *
A gloriously presented compilation * * Financial Times * *
The literary equivalent of a box of chocolates - bite-sized and pure addictive pleasure . . . The result is beautifully produced, with photographs and colour facsimiles of much of the correspondence. A gorgeous Christmas present * * Sunday Times * *
