Other People's Love Letters

Other People's Love Letters: 150 Letters You Were Never Meant to See by Bill Shapiro
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

You won't find anything on par with John Keats' longing letters to Fanny Brawne here (or the Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett's lovely correspondence). Still, the handwritten letters here may make you smile, laugh, and feel sad at the disappointment of lost love and missed chances. (There's also the guilty thrill of getting a glimpse into ordinary people's most private moments.)

Once you've read this slim volume, may I recommend Bright Star: Love Letters and Poems of John Keats to Fanny Brawne next, with its introduction by director Jane Campion? Campion's film of the same name does not quite convey the loveliness and tragedy of my favorite true-life historical romance, but the costuming is a wonder (Oscar-nominated, and even more interesting because Fanny Brawne did make her own unusual clothing).