Letters Literature

Arrested in 1962 as South Africa's apartheid regime intensified its brutal campaign against political opponents, 44-year-old lawyer and African National Congress activist Nelson Mandela had no idea that he would spend the next 27 years in jail. During his 10,052 days of incarceration, Mandela wrote hundreds of letters to unyielding prison authorities, fellow activists, government officials, and, most memorably, his courageous wife, Winnie, and his five children. Now, 255 of these letters, a majority of which were previously unpublished, provide the most intimate portrait of Mandela since Long Walk to Freedom.

The summer of 1956 starts out like any other summer for 15-year-old Henry Pederson: hot, long, and boring. That all changes when Jenny Sarsky, along with her guardian angel and her family, moves into the house three doors down.

Beneath the oldest willow in Willow Park, Eleanor discovers a secret letter buried by time—and with it, a love she thought was lost forever. At 68, Eleanor has made peace with solitude, until a friend’s gentle insistence leads her back to the park she once shared with her first love, Richard. What she finds beneath the roots is more than a forgotten note—it’s a bridge between past and present, regret and redemption.

When student Tim Journeyman first wrote to family friend Dr. Paul Woodson, he didn't know it would start a fifteen-year mentorship that would shape his life and Christian faith. Within their candid letters are words of real-world wisdom—from a "senior saint" to a "junior saint"—covering various areas of living, from the theological to the everyday. Written as fictional correspondence between two men at different stages of life and faith, the novel Letters Along the Way provides important biblical perspectives.

"Le nouveau monde ne sera pas construit par ceux qui restent à l'écart les bras croisés, mais par ceux qui sont dans l'arène, les vêtements réduits en haillons par la tempête et le corps mutilé par les événements." Arrêté en 1962 par le gouvernement d'apartheid d'Afrique du Sud, Nelson Mandela a passé vingt-sept ans en prison - du 7 novembre 1962 au 11 février 1990. Au cours de ces 10 052 jours de détention, il fut un épistolier prolifique, écrivant des centaines de lettres aux autorités inflexibles, à ses compagnons de lutte, aux gouvernements officiels, mais aussi à sa femme Winnie, à ses cinq enfants et, plus tard, à ses petits-enfants.

Foulgrin, a high-ranking demon, instructs his subordinate on how to deceive and destroy Jordan Fletcher and his family. It's like placing a bugging device in hell's war room, where we overhear our enemies assessing our weaknesses and strategizing attack. Lord Foulgrin's Letters is a Screwtape Letters for our day, equally fascinating yet distinctly different - a dramatic story with earthly characters, setting, and plot.

THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS' CHOICE The arc of literary giant John Updike’s life emerges in these luminous daily letters to family, friends, editors, and lovers—a remarkable outpouring over six decades, from his earliest consciousness as a writer to his final days. As James...

From the writer of the classic Letters to a Young Poet, reflections on grief and loss, collected and published here in one volume for the first time. “A great poet’s reflections on our greatest mystery.”—Billy Collins “A treasure . . . The solace Rilke offers is uncommon, uplifting and...

Easily one of the most towering figures of Bengali literature of the 20th century, Buddhadeva Bose was as prolific as he was versatile. A poet of renown, Bose was also an accomplished playwright, novelist, essayist and short-story writer. His prose is marked by invention, refreshing modernity and an easy yet deep engagement with timeless themes: love, the nature of memory, and the complexity of the relationship between man and woman - qualities which keep Bose’s work enduringly relevant.

No one could have predicted even two years ago that an African American would take the oath of office as president of the United States in January of 2009. For many, the occasion marks the climax to the civil rights movement and the fulfillment of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream that Americans could be judged on the content of their character and not the color of their skin. This collection, with about 400 letters from Americans of all walks of life, is being created to stand as a symbol of this exciting moment in history.

Le 19 mars 1944, Albert Camus et Maria Casarès se croisent chez Michel Leiris. L'ancienne élève du Conservatoire, originaire de La Corogne et fille d'un républicain espagnol en exil, n'a que vingt et un ans. L'écrivain vit alors seul à Paris, la guerre l'ayant tenu éloigné de son épouse Francine, enseignante à Oran. Sensible au talent de l'actrice, Albert Camus lui confie le rôle de Martha pour la création du Malentendu en juin 1944. Et durant la nuit du Débarquement, Albert Camus et Maria Casarès deviennent amants.

Eve and Patrick Gantly are living a normal life in 2019 New York, preparing to celebrate the Christmas season. To their delight, Eve is three months pregnant. Despite their happiness, Eve is having premonitions that something dreadful is about to occur. Concerned about the future and the safety of their child, she insists that they destroy the time-travel lantern.

When crime novelist Phoebe opens the post and receives an invitation to her own funeral, she’s horrified. Not least because the date of her death is marked as tomorrow. Deciding it’s nothing more than a prank from an enemy from her past, she determines to put it to the back of her mind. But the next morning, when her completely infuriating postman (who likes to think himself her no.1 literary critic) rings her doorbell, a parcel of poisoned pen-nibs explodes in his face. Forced to confront the fact her correspondence is more RIP than RSVP, Phoebe realises someone must want her dead.

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

The day Patrick is to leave for Florida to meet up with Eve and baby Colleen for Christmas, he receives a shocking telephone call from one of Eve's cousins. Sobbing, she tells him a terrible tragedy has occurred. His life shattered, Patrick knows he must use the time travel lantern to return to the past in order to prevent the current tragedy. But once again, the time travel lantern has a mind of its own....

Leanna Chupp has always made her own way in her small community of Birch Creek. Though some may call her unconventional - strange, even - Leanna is passionate about her faith. Her unique outlook on life has meant she's never had many suitors pursuing courtship, but she is happy being single and believes she always will be. But when Roman and Leanna find themselves working together again, everything changes. Neither of them fit squarely within the strictures of the Amish faith, but could their differences be the one thing that helps them?

With its winding high street lined with a greengrocer, post office, pub and church, Melstead St Mary is the perfect English village. Neighbours look out for neighbours, and few things trouble the serene surface of the community. But when residents start to receive anonymous letters containing secret information about their pasts - secrets that no one else is meant to know - life in Melstead St Mary is about to change, possibly forever....

When husband and wife Eve and Patrick Gantly discover a shocking secret from Patrick's past, they make the difficult decision to use the old lantern once again to return to 1885. They hope to save his child from a tragic future. Although they try to plan for every possible contingency, something goes wrong. They lose each other and end up in a different time! Nothing goes as planned. They struggle to save Patrick's daughter from certain death, even as they search for the lost lantern that will return them to their own time.

When words of love do not come to you on their own, then listen to these letters. Complete, actual love letters of great men like Lord Byron, John Keats, and Voltaire. Leaders like Henry VIII, George Washington, and Napoléon, who wrote to his beloved Joséphine, "I awake consumed with thoughts of you...." Artists like van Gogh, Mozart, and Beethoven, who famously penned, "Though still in bed, my thoughts go out to you, my Immortal Beloved...."

Rifka knows nothing about America when she flees from Russia with her family in 1919. But she dreams that in the new country she will at last be safe from the Russian soldiers and their harsh treatment of the Jews. Throughout her journey, Rifka carries with her a cherished volume of poetry by Alexander Pushkin. In it, she records her observations and experiences in the form of letters to Tovah, the beloved cousin she has left behind.