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Instead of a Letter

By Diana Athill
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3.89 goodreads logo

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Check link for latest rating. ( 829 ratings, 122 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Instead of a Letter by Diana Athill is an intimate memoir that traces the author's early life, detailing experiences of love, loss, and personal growth. Athill reflects on poignant events from her youth through to her development into a distinguished editor and writer. With honesty and introspection, she provides insight into the nuances of relationships and the resilience required to embrace life's changes.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$2600
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you appreciate candid memoirs that explore themes of love, loss, and resilience. Diana Athill offers a poignant reflection on her life and experiences. Her writing is both introspective and deeply moving, making this a compelling read for those interested in personal narratives.

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Instead of a Letter

Athill's debut, and a modern classic memoir: a moving story of love and loss, heartbreak and hope during the second world war.

Athill's debut, and a modern classic memoir: a moving story of love and loss, heartbreak and hope during the second world war.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Diana Athill's childhood was idyllic, brought up in the Norfolk countryside. Aged only fifteen, she fell in love with a young undergraduate. They travelled to Oxford, engaged to be married. Then everything fell apart in the cruellest possible way.

In this classic modern memoir, Diana Athill dissects the terrible consequences of loss and her struggle to rebuild a personality destroyed by sadness. Yet for all its unhappiness, Instead of a Letter remains a story of hope, written with the frank intelligence and lack of self-pity that have become the hallmarks of Athill's writing.

'Her first and still most perfect book' - Literary Review

'The reader sees the transformation of the battered soul into a buoyant woman, open-minded and open-hearted' - Hilary Mantel

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Diana Athill's Instead of a Letter is celebrated for its elegant writing and profound honesty, transforming personal tribulations into an inspiring narrative. Critics admire its blend of introspection and emotion, portraying Athill's journey from heartbreak to empowerment. The memoir is praised as a masterpiece of confessional literature, offering insights into life, love, and resilience.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781783787432

Publisher: Granta Books

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 03 February 2022

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Granta Books

Contributors:

  • Introduction by Andrea Ashworth

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 14.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 173g

Pages: 240

Collections

Biography & Memoir Diana Athill Non-Fiction

About the Author

DIANA ATHILL was born in 1917. She helped Andre Deutsch establish the publishing company that bore his name and worked as an editor for Deutsch for four decades. She is the author of eight volumes of memoirs - Stet, Instead of a Letter, After a Funeral, Yesterday Morning, Make Believe, Somewhere Towards the End, Alive, Alive Oh!, A Florence Diary - a collection of letters, Instead of a Book, and a novel, Don't Look At Me Like That, all published by Granta, as well as a collection of short stories, Midsummer Night in the Workhouse (Persephone Books). In January 2009, she won the Costa Biography Award for Somewhere Towards the End, and was presented with an OBE. She died in January 2019.

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