WHAT A HAZARD A LETTER IS

The Strange Destiny of the Unsent Letter

Caroline Atkins

Reissued in paperback binding with an elegant new cover treatment

Caroline Atkins’ unique study of the unsent letter drew critical acclaim from the Sunday Times to the Daily Mail. Now it receives a beautiful new cover and is available for a paperback price.

‘What a Hazard a Letter is. . .’ wrote Emily Dickinson, thinking of ‘the Hearts it has scuttled and sunk’. Once sent, a letter cannot be taken back: it is a depth charge dropped into other lives – even though we may all too soon have second thoughts.

But what if a letter is not sent, or never arrives?

Caroline Atkins’ unique and critically acclaimed book collects some of the most remarkable unsent letters in literature and history, and explores the fascinating reasons why – and the consequences, be they farcical or agonisingly poignant.

From Ian McEwan to Iris Murdoch, Abraham Lincoln to Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Woolf to Van Gogh, here are delicious tirades mercifully unposted, fictional plots derailed by a non-arriving letter, and tender expressions of love heartbreakingly unheard – and all the more eloquent for being unsent.

Caroline Atkins is the author of several books on design, and now writes for Country Living magazine. She lives in London.

ISBN 978 19160 453 2 3
304pp
195 x 125 mm
paperback
£9.99

‘A charming book, witty, original and wise’, Christopher Hart, Sunday Times

‘A gloriously varied collection’ Bel Mooney, Daily Mail 

‘An enchanting book’ Clive Aslet, Country Life

‘A sparkling collection… lively and well-researched’ Cressida Connolly, Spectator

‘A fascinating book … with a really good concept … just brilliant’ Alan Carr, Alan and Mel, Radio 2