Review: 'Written in History: Letters that Changed the World' by Simon Sebag Montefiore

When I was a kid, I always felt like we had tons of "coffee table books". Those books that you don't read in one go but that you peek into when you've sat down with a cup of coffee and when you're looking for 10 minutes of quiet. Anything can be a coffee table book. A book on art, a puzzle book, maybe a comic strip or even a collection of letters. As such, I felt right at home in Written in History. Thanks to Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Vintage and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for a review.

Pub. Date: 10/15/2019
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing; Vintage

Written in History: Letters that Changed the World celebrates the great letters of world history, and cultural and personal life. Bestselling, prizewinning historian Simon Sebag Montefiore selects letters that have changed the course of global events or touched a timeless emotion—whether passion, rage, humor—from ancient times to the twenty-first century. Some are noble and inspiring, some despicable and unsettling, some are exquisite works of literature, others brutal, coarse, and frankly outrageous, many are erotic, others heartbreaking. It is a surprising and eclectic selection, from the four corners of the world, filled with extraordinary women and men, from ancient times to now.

Truly a choice of letters for our own times encompassing love letters to calls for liberation to declarations of war to reflections on life and death. The writers vary from Elizabeth I and Catherine the Great to Mandela, Stalin and Picasso, Fanny Burney and Emily Pankhurst to Ada Lovelace and Rosa Parks, Oscar Wilde, Chekhov and Pushkin to Balzac, Mozart and Michelangelo, Hitler, Rameses the Great and Alexander Hamilton to Augustus and Churchill, Lincoln, Donald Trump and Suleiman the Magnificent.

In a book that is a perfect gift, here is a window on astonishing characters, seminal events, and unforgettable words. In the colorful, accessible style of a master storyteller, Montefiore shows why these letters are essential reading and how they can unveil and enlighten the past—and enrich the way we live now.

Sebag Montefiore isn't the first to recognize the power of personal letters. Alongside many published diaries, you can find the published letters of countless of authors and important figures in bookstores. Reading Written in History I was reminded of how much I loved writing letters and postcard when I was younger. Writing emails doesn't have quite the same feel to it since it somehow, and illogically, feels more ... impermanent.  As such, Written in History is something of an ode to letter writing, celebrating what some call a dying art. This collection shows how much of ourselves we show in our letters and how our writing can be the start and end of something. This is also why it feels like a "coffee table book", because Written in History lets you dip into all kinds of feelings, whether it's excitement, sadness or nostalgia. It doesn't require a lot of attention and focus, but it is the perfect starting point for quiet contemplation or exciting conversation.

The only thing to really complain about with Written in History is that it's subtitle is a little dramatic and misleading. In their own way, many of those who wrote the letters in this collection did change the world, but these letters themselves often didn't. Most of the letters in this collection are fascinating. Although not all readers will find each letter equally fascinating, there is something for everyone here. Written in History is divided into different sections, such as 'Love', 'Family' and even 'Goodbye'. It's a nice way to group together letters from across the ages. We get a sassy response from a Pharaoh, a frankly disgusting if hilarious letter from Mozart, Churchill's lovely farewell letter to his wife, and even Trump's letter to Kim Jong-Il. Some of the letters showed me a whole new side of these people, usually for the better but occasionally also for the worse. Sebag Montefiore prefaces each letter with a short introduction, relaying some of the context of the letter and background to those that wrote it. His writing style is very pleasant and this made me curious to seek out his other books.

I give this collection...

3 Universes!

Written in History is a lovely collection of letters from across the ages. There will be something for everyone here and some letters are truly touching.