Of the billions of pieces of correspondence that have been sent through the ages- via messenger, pony express, post office, email and carrier pigeon – many have proved to be either significant, historic, inspiring, fascinating, heartbreaking…or some combination of them all.  

Collected here are some of these letters; some by famous figures from world history, others from ordinary citizens, soldiers, scientists and creative artists. But each of these pieces of correspondence have stood the test of time and deserve recognition as some of the most important, moving and historically resonant letters ever written.  

Fort Raphael Publishing has selected the letters that make up this unique collection, which range from Philip II of Macedon, threatening to invade the Spartans, all the way up to Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., writing his famous ‘Letter from a Birmingham Jail.’  

Also included in this volume: Abraham Lincoln’s letter of condolence to a mother who lost her sons in the Civil War. Virginia Woolf’s heartbreaking suicide note to her husband. Dorothy Parker grumbling about her tedious hospital stay. Mohandas Gandhi pleading with Adolph Hitler for world peace. Napoleon Bonaparte demanding more love letters from his wife Josephine. Vincent Van Gogh patching things up with his estranged brother. Physicist Richard Feynman penning a love letter to his deceased wife. And Sigmund Freud severing his friendship with fellow analyst Carl Jung.  

From the hilarious to the sublime, heartbreaking to ridiculous, these are some of the greatest and most important letters ever written.