Love Letters of Great Men

This is a very nice book that contains amazing love letters written by famous people in history. I believe it contains most of (if not all) the letters in the book used in the Sex & The City movie. It is simply done in a different format. (Smaller book, prettier cover). I wish that Ursula Doyle would have included love letters from some more recent celebrities. The most recent one mentioned in this book is G. K. Chesterton who lived from 1874-1936. This is an interesting account of how men wrote to their loves in earlier days. I particularly like the one written by Ludwig van Beethoven.

If only real men were like this. But Great ones were and are. What a wonderful idea for a book, beautifully executed with introductions which are illuminating and engrossing. Too often we're guilty (well, me anyway) of assuming that men just can't, don't, won't express themselves in loving, romantic and intimate ways. How wrong we/I are/am. And a Great title.

Once I started reading this delightful book, I couldn't put it down. It sheds light on the private lives of such great men as Benjamin Disraeli and Pierre Curie -- who knew they were such romantics? The book made me wish that I live the pre-email era where men actually wrote lengthy, sincere and effusive letters to the women they love. The only downside to this collection is that it sets the bar high (perhaps too high?) for my husband... The only pitfall

Loved the book, very romantic. The introductions were nearly as brilliant as the letters themselves. Great Valentines gift for the man in your life.

Whether or not you remember the scene in the film Sex and the City in which Carrie read from a book of love letters to Mr. Big doesn't really matter. What is of import is that when Ursula Doyle, formerly deputy editor of Picador, noted the flurry of women looking for the book that did not really exit, she decided to make it happen. Make it happen she did by researching the private papers of a number of famous men and collecting their intimate thoughts on love. It is no surprise that the feelings aroused by love have not changed very much over the centuries. What is surprising and endearing is the expression given to those feelings by some of the most articulate fellows who have ever lived, including such disparate individuals as Mark Twain, Henry VIII, and Roman Pliny the Younger. Reading these letters is one thing, hearing them is quite another matter. If love letters are going to be heard let them always be given voice by noted Shakespearean actor Anton Lesser. His resonant, theatre trained voice easily moves from plaintive entreaty to harsh scolding when a loved one feels he has been neglected. Lesser's readings of letters describing the depth of one's love for another are indeed sigh producing. As is said, all the world loves a lover and all will love this collection. - Gail Cooke