‘No literary form is more revealing, more spontaneous or more individual than a letter.’ – P.D. James This inspiring and fascinating book is the first truly comprehensive study of women’s letters ever published. Organised by subject matter, and covering a wide range of topics from politics, work and war, to childhood, love and sexual passion, 800 Years of Women’s Letters reveals the depth, breadth and diversity of women’s lives through the ages. Here Héloïse writes to Abelard of her undying devotion, Vita Sackville-West and Virginia Woolf correspond about life and writing, Queen Victoria complains to Robert Peel about the neglect of Buckingham Palace, and many more women write letters that reveal the compassion, humour, love and tenacity with which they confront the often difficult circumstances of everyday life. This is an intriguing insight, and a rare opportunity to read the real words of real women in their own intimate language.