Letters Literature

Before email, when long distance telephone calls were difficult and expensive, people wrote letters, often several each day. Today, those letters provide an intimate and revealing look at the lives and loves of the people who wrote them. When the author is a brilliant writer who lived an...

When Bunny Linden abandons her three children with her older sister, Jayne, in 1972, she knows Jayne will be the perfect mother. The mother Bunny, a teen runaway, could never be. As months turn into years without word, Jayne and her husband, Rodger, a rising journalism star, strive to give the children the opportunity to flourish and feel loved. When Jayne and Rodger finally have a child of their own, a seemingly stable home is built. But then, after nearly a decade, Bunny resurfaces and sets a chain of events in motion that detonates all their lives.

A fourth floor room, a door locked with the key inside, no way in, no way out. Edgar Allan Poe is the true grandfather of the murder mystery. Decades before Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot, Poe gave us C. Auguste Dupin, a man able to solve mysteries through observation and deduction.

On holiday in Ramsgate, Elizabeth Bennet befriends shy, romantic Georgiana Darcy, who shares and adoring description of an ideal elder brother. When Georgiana discloses a secret infatuation with her brother's "close friend" Mr. Wickham, Elizabeth's altered perception of both men affects her actions and alliances. The secret within an anonymous letter from Ramsgate ties Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth together, but also separates them. Will the shocking disclosure of a forgotten letter transform his understanding of her heart and lead them to embrace their future?

Lord Byron was the most celebrated of all the Romantic poets. Troubled, handsome, sexually fluid, disabled, and transgressive, he wrote his way to international fame—and scandal—before finding a kind of redemption in the Greek Revolution. He also left behind the vast trove of thrilling letters (to friends, relatives, lovers, and more) that form the core of this remarkable biography.

Molly Alcott didn't expect to open her mailbox one summer morning and find an old letter stuffed between bills and a supermarket flyer. Penned in familiar handwriting, dated over 15 years ago, the letter was written to Molly after her first date with the man she'll never forget. Week after week, new letters appear. Each marks an event in the history of their epic love affair. Each heals a wound. Each holds the confession of the man who still owns Molly's heart. Molly wishes she could unread them all. Because the man who wrote these letters is not the one sending them.

As a barrister in 1818 London, William Snopes is a strong advocate who chooses to defend the poorer classes against the powerful. That changes the day a struggling heiress, Lady Madeleine Jameson, arrives at his door.

These letters between the pioneering environmentalist and her beloved friend reveal "a vibrant, caring woman behind the scientist" (Los Angeles Times). This very special collection of letters from Rachel Carson to her Maine summer neighbor Dorothy Freeman offers an intimate, spellbinding look at Carson's private life and thoughts.

To the world, he was Dr. Sacks, the brilliant neurologist behind bestselling books like Musicophilia and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. To professor Susan Barry, he became Dear Oliver—her mentor, friend, and confidant over the course of their ten-year correspondence.

In Letter From a Stranger, Barbara Taylor Bradford delivers a lush and evocative new novel of family secrets and betrayals that stretch from the streets of World War II Berlin to the winding alleys of Istanbul to the present day. Justine Nolan is a documentary film maker who lost her beloved...

The Scarlet Letter – published first in 1850, was in its time considered as an innovative and at the same time scandalous novel, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. This book was strongly disapproved by the fellow countrymen of the author and banned by the Russian tsars. The Scarlet Letter tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter through an affair and struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. For the Puritan Boston in the 17th century New England, this is a terrible violation of morality.

In the hopes of receiving some mail of her own, Paula writes a letter to her grandparents.

This rich compilation of Joyce Carol Oates’s letters across four decades displays her warmth and generosity, her droll and sometimes wicked sense of humor, her phenomenal energy, and most of all, her mastery of the lost art of letter writing. In this generous selection of Joyce Carol Oates’s letters to her biographer and friend Greg Johnson, listeners will discover a never-before-seen dimension of her phenomenal talent.

Immediately following the death of her young son, distraught and heartbroken, a woman sends a heart-wrenching letter to the only man she has ever loved, chronicling their love affair, opening with, "To you, who have never known me."

Edwina is looking for a fresh start. So when a friend suggests she renovates a series of coastguard cottages in the tiny village of Sandy Cove, she wonders if the beautiful Irish seaside town might be her chance for a new beginning. Soon after she arrives, Edwina meets Shane O'Flaherty, a charming local doctor, with whom she feels an instant connection. As the pair walk the streets of the picturesque village together, Edwina's feelings grow stronger, and she begins to wonder whether Sandy Cove might be the place she can finally call home.

Set in 17th-century Puritan Boston, Massachusetts, during the years 1642 to 1649, The Scarlet Letter tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter through an affair and will not reveal her lover’s identity. The scarlet letter A (for adultery) she has to wear on her clothes, along with her public shaming, is her punishment for her sin and her secrecy. She struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. Throughout the book, Hawthorne explores themes of legalism, sin, and guilt.

After decades apart, Henry and Jenny are finally married and living on Henry's acreage situated on a hillside overlooking a beautiful panoramic valley. They couldn't be happier. While Henry is finding fulfillment painting landscapes in his studio, Jenny is leading Bible studies as they relate to marriage and family with small groups of ladies in the city. The only thing that could make Jenny happier would be to bear Henry a child.

When Victoria Davies was pushed off her stately home's roof in 2001, all evidence pointed to her husband Michael. But now, 20 years later a letter has appeared, written by Victoria before her death; a letter that was never received, and a letter that brings new suspects into the fray; Labor MPs Shaun Donnal, Andrew MacIntyre, and Charles Baker.

Alphabetical Alliterative Adventures, featuring each letter of the alphabet, will entertain and introduce new words that enhance the listener’s vocabulary. Laugh as the tongue tangles with these fun, educational, short alliterative stories. Your child will enjoy listening to and learning from the animal characters with situations involving self image, friendship, bullying, teamwork, determination and just plain fun.

A young boy named Jimmy finds feathers while out and about with his mother. His mother says a feather is a letter from a bird. Jimmy learns about different kinds of birds, like a seagull, a pelican, an egret, and more! How many letters from birds have you found?