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At 1:19 in the video above, the wonderful Lorelai Gilmore says, “When I picture letter writing I picture Charles Dickens…”
Ever since this episode I’ve thought “I bet Charles Dickens wrote amazing letters.”
It seems I was right as this blog post from Letters of Note proves
The letter to the six year old fan of Nicholas Nickelby is wonderful – beautifully written and displays such a fondness and respect for the recipient. What I particularly love is how we witness Dickens clearly encouraging the young chap’s creativity. I wonder how he responded to the letter and if he was inspired to write his own stories as a result.
If you’re interested in letter writing, enjoy history or are just a bit nosey, I’d recommend subscribing to Letters of Note as there are lots of wonderful letters reproduced on it. This letter is written by from the novelist E.B White (Charlotte’s Web) who was getting hassle from the authorities about a dog licence. It’s sarcastic and brilliant. My favourite part:
“You asked about Minnie’s name, sex, breed, and phone number. She doesn’t answer the phone. She is a dachshund and can’t reach it, but she wouldn’t answer it even if she could, as she has no interest in outside calls.”
So… have we lost the art of letter writing? I used to write a lot of letters back in the day. Moving across the country at the age of 14 and in the early days of the internet, it was the best way of keeping in touch with my best friend. I still have a box of letters from the teenage years.
Although I’d never share their contents with anyone (but me and the letter writers) they are a wonderful testament to a time when writing a letter was the best way to share your life with the people you held dear. As replies to my own missives, these letters also shed some light on my own (mainly silly) teenage preoccupations.
If you’d like to rekindle the lost art of letter writing, I’ve heard good things about this group
Happy writing 
