From the private papers of Jane Austen and Mozart to those of Anne Boleyn and Nelson, Love Letters of Great Men and Women collects together some of the most romantic letters in history.

For some of these great men, love is a ‘delicious poison’ (William Congreve); for others, ‘a nice soft wife on a sofa with good fire, & books & music’ (Charles Darwin). Love can scorch like the heat of the sun (Henry VIII), or penetrate the depths of one’s heart like a cooling rain (Flaubert). But what about the other side of the story? What of the secret hopes and lives of some of the greatest women in history?

Taken together, these love letters show that perhaps little has changed over the last 2,000 years. Passion, jealousy, hope and longing are all represented here – as is the simple pleasure of sending a letter to, and receiving one from, the person you love most.

Includes letters by:

Anne Boleyn * Beethoven * Edith Wharton * Mark Twain * Mary Wordsworth * Nell Gwyn (mistress of Charles II) * Elizabeth Barrett Browning * GK Chesterton * Queen Victoria * Napoleon Bonaparte * The Empress Josephine * Mary Wollstonecraft * Amadeus Mozart * Katherine Mansfield