
Written in History: Letters that Changed the World (Hardback)
Simon Sebag Montefiore (author)- Not available
Stay one step ahead and let us notify you when this item is next available to order
Email me when available
Enter your email below and we will notify you when this item is next available to order.

Thank you
We will contact you when this item is next available to order.
Written in History celebrates the great letters of world history, creative culture and personal life.
Acclaimed historian Simon Sebag Montefiore selects over one hundred letters 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.
The writers vary from Elizabeth I, Rameses the Great and Leonard Cohen to Emmeline Pankhurst, Mandela, Stalin, Michelangelo, Suleiman the Magnificent and unknown people in extraordinary circumstances - from love letters to calls for liberation, declarations of war to reflections on death.
In the colourful, accessible style of a master storyteller, Montefiore shows why these letters are essential reading: how they enlighten our past, enrich the way we live now - and illuminate tomorrow.
Publisher: Orion Publishing Co
ISBN: 9781474609180
Number of pages: 272
Weight: 393 g
Dimensions: 224 x 140 x 28 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
'If you loved Ernst Gombrich's A Little History of the World and are in the mood for another potted global history from a different angle, this collection of historically significant letters through the ages compiled by Simon Sebag Montefiore might well hit the spot ... he has distilled a few millennia of world history into 240 extremely un-boring pages ... Sebag Montefiore has an eye for the spicy, the horrifying, the passionate and the shocking ... very moving.' - Ysenda Maxtone Graham, The Times
'Written in History is a search through the millennia, the result an astonishing array: all human life is here encapsulated, in just a few paragraphs or even just a sentence; all are surprising, and mostly unfamiliar ... Everything here is a revelatory marvel, whether a hideous rant from the Marquis de Sade (1783), or the impassioned logic of religious tolerance from Babur to his son Hamayun (1529). Truly the spectrum of human belief and behaviour is revealed in this selection.' - Marina Vaizey, The Arts Desk
You may also be interested in...
“A curated history lesson to be read in any order so desire....”
Another great - literary-themed - Xmas gift for the budget conscious of you out there. This is like having a curated history lesson but you get to choose which genre interests you the most so need to read in any... More
“A Truly Fascinating Collection”
This is a really interesting collection of correspondence between famous figures from history that opens up whole new ways of thinking about great moments and events from the past. Compiled with real care and... More
“A celebration of the art of letter writing”
A fascinating anthology of letters written by and to famous figures throughout history, with correspondence dating from antiquity to the present day. Organised into themes from love and family to war and power with... More
Please sign in to write a review
Sign In / Register
Sign In
Download the Waterstones App
Would you like to proceed to the App store to download the Waterstones App?
Click & Collect
Please note that owing to current COVID-19 restrictions, many of our shops are closed. Find out more by clicking here.