Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Celebrating the Joys of Letter Writing
In this age of e-mail, few appreciate any longer the deep joys and satisfactions that spring in mind and heart from writing and receiving letters. Sankovitch combs history to find exceptional correspondents. She recounts very famous pairs, such as Héloïse and Abelard, whose intense relationship ended tragically. An interchange of letters between Joyce Maynard and J. D. Salinger linked an established writer with a devoted fan. Sankovitch offers dozens of other correspondents less celebrated but no less articulate. She finds troves of emotion in letters of condolence mourning the losses of John Kennedy and of Arthur Ashe. Politics gives way to simple love in the letters from the imprisoned Nelson Mandela to his Winnie. Not all letter writing is so benign: Sankovitch cites ransom notes demanding money for the return of the Lindbergh baby. More survey than anthology, this book should encourage readers to search out and read the letters’ full texts. --Mark Knoblauch