In the letter below, English theatre critic Kenneth Tynan writes to the Tribune regarding “the unique moral splendor” of nuclear annihilation, and insists that the Royal family be immediately evacuated to “some distant British dependency.”   To the Editor, Tribune … Continued

In a letter to his brother, evolutionary biologist Julian Huxley, Aldous Huxley recounts the political climate during his travels in South Asia with his wife, Maria.   To Julian Huxley 6 February, 1926 My dear J, The enclosed cheque is … Continued

In the letter below, Thomas Mann rejects the notion that The Magic Mountain is hostile to life, instead arguing that he has attempted “to make death a comic figure.”   To Josef Ponten Munich February 5, 1925 Dear Ponten: Your … Continued

“The lamp-lighter with his long pole is lighting the lamps on the Prado. A man on horse-back has just gone by dressed in white. The colors of the dresses in the automobiles seem chiefly to be shades of pink and orange. When I came in I put on my pajamas to cool off. But as it is now evening I shall dress again and stir about a little….”

Poet and cultural critic Matthew Arnold was deeply involved with contemporary social issues, widely respected as “a man of the world entirely free from worldliness”(G.W.E. Russell in Portraits of the Seventies). In this letter, Arnold writes to Richard Cobden, a … Continued

Christina Rossetti was an English poet best known for her romantic, devotional, and children’s poems. Under the pen-name “Ellen Alleyne,” Rossetti contributed to the short-lived literary magazine The Germ, published from January to April 1850 and edited by her brother … Continued

Cesare Pavese’s life often mirrored that of his protagonists: lonely and solitary. To Enso Monferini, Ancona Turin [January 1938] Dear Enso, I have often meant to answer your letter of last summer, but, as you know, pressure of work leaves … Continued