Instead of a Letter [Paperback]

Diana Athill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1984

Diana Athill's childhood was idyllic, brought up in the Norfolk countryside. Aged only 15, 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 modern memoir, Diana Athill dissects the terrible consequences of loss and her struggle to rebuild a personality destroyed by sadness.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'The reader sees the transformation of the battered soul into a buoyant woman, openminded and open-hearted' - Hilary Mantel, Spectator --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Diana Athill was born in 1917. She worked for the BBC throughout the Second World War before helping Andre Deutsch establish the publishing company that bore his name. For almost fifty years she was widely regarded as one of the finest editors in London, as well as a considerable and unjustly neglected writer. Two of what she called her 'documentary' books, After a Funeral and Instead of a Letter, anticipated the modern memoir in their directness and intimacy. Diana Athill lives in London NW3. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Publishers (April 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881840467
• ISBN-13: 978-0881840469
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,302,206 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Minor Classic, May 25, 2000

By 

Ed (Dublin, Ireland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Instead of a Letter (Paperback)

This is a brilliant autobiography by a well-known figure in the publishing world.

First published in 1962, this book falls into the great tradition of autobiographical writings by female British authors in the middle decades of the 20th century, including Nancy and Jessica Mitford, Monica Dickens, and Barbara Pym. Athill is more serious than these writers, but also more literary. She describes her childhood and youth as a member of the poor end of a wealthy family, her failed first love (which nearly ruined her sense of self), and her struggle to come back to life. Although this may sound depressing, it is not. Athill's way with words and her insightful and detached view of her own life engrossed me from beginning to end.

Athill claimed that she had written this book to discover the truth about herself and about what her life has been for. A very honest book by a very good writer.