Letter writing is not a lost art. Love letters remain one of the most common forms of correspondence, and nearly everyone has received or has written a love letter. The reason is simple: there is nothing as private or intimate as a letter addressed to a loved one. Often initiated at an early stage in a romance, a love letter gives the writer the ability to express feelings that are difficult in person and provides an opportunity to formalize his or her passion. When Love Letters: How to Write Them and When to Use Them by Ingoldsby North was first published in 1867, letter writing was the only available means for recording personal communication, and agreements and matters of business—and love—all depended on correspondence. While it is no longer necessary to write to a parent for permission to begin a correspondence with a daughter or write to ask for her hand in marriage, the affections and powerful emotions behind a letter addressed to a beloved remain constant.

In Love Letters we have a delightful and entertaining guide—reproduced here for the first time—devoted to this intimate art. After a charming description of the nature of love, marriage, and romance, the author explains how to begin and end a letter of love, and offers advice on the use of candor and the danger of being extreme. Wonderful specimen letters are the heart of the book and examples include "From a Gentleman aware of several other Suitors," "a Soldier ordered on Active Service," "To a Lady stranger seen at Church," "A Renewed offer from a Rejected Suitor," "To a Lady with whom an acquaintance is formed during a Journey," "To a Friend asking introduction to a Lady and the Friend's reply," and "From a Young Man whose Engagement to another Lady has been broken off (with remarks) and the second Lady's reply." Full of romance and sure to provide pleasure for the modern reader, Love Letters contains sensible and inspiring instruction on how to articulate feelings