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Diana Athill
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Instead of a Book: Letters to a Friend Hardcover – 6 Oct. 2011

by Diana Athill (Author)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 28 ratings
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    304 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Granta Books
  4. Publication date
    6 Oct. 2011
  5. Dimensions
    16.51 x 3.18 x 24.77 cm
  6. ISBN-10
    1847084125
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1847084125
  8. See all details
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Product description

Review

`Fascinating and surprising ... Every page of this book shows that Athill's eye is as beady as ever'
--Sunday Times

'These are vivid reports on life in late 20th-century Britain ... Athill has given us a great deal' --Guardian

`A charming, witty and utterly life-affirming collection ... A delight' --Time Out

'A joy to read and wonderfully entertaining. Athill makes you hope that letter-writing is not a lost art' --Metro

'A candid picture of Athill's past 30 years and a testament to the cathartic nature of letter-writing'
--The Times

'Athill describes beautifully those "lovely moments of pure being" that make it all worthwhile' --Financial Times

'This hand written insight into the sharp wit and tenacious, nurturing soul of Athill is a joy' --Psychologies

'The author once described a new friend as `on the side of the angels'. So is Diana Athill'
--Spectator

About the Author

Diana Athill was born in 1917. She helped André Deutsch establish the publishing company that bore his name and worked as an editor for Deutsch for four decades. Athill's distinguished career as an editor is the subject of her acclaimed memoir Stet. She is the author of seven further volumes of memoirs, Instead of a Letter, After a Funeral, Yesterday Morning, Make Believe, Somewhere Towards the End, Alive, Alive Oh!, A Florence Diary, and a collection of letters, Instead of a Book, all published by Granta. Her only novel, Don't Look At Me Like That, was first published in 1967. In January 2009, she won the Costa Biography Award for Somewhere Towards the End, and was presented with an OBE. She died in January 2019.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Granta Books; First Edition (6 Oct. 2011)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1847084125
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1847084125
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 16.51 x 3.18 x 24.77 cm
  • Customer reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 28 ratings

About the author

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Diana Athill

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Born in 1917 and educated at Oxford University, DIANA ATHILL has written several memoirs, including "Instead of a Letter," "After a Funeral," "Somewhere Towards the End," and the New York Times Notable Book "Stet," about her fifty-year career in publishing. She lives in London and was recently appointed an Officer of the British Empire.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
28 global ratings
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Top reviews from United Kingdom

Vee
4.0 out of 5 stars Instead of a Book: Letters to a Friend
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 May 2012
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5 people found this helpful
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Mrs. B. J. Bell
4.0 out of 5 stars This was a present for a friend.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 March 2013
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Lizzie Bryan
5.0 out of 5 stars reading this book felt like making a new friend
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 December 2012
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3 people found this helpful
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Dee Bee
5.0 out of 5 stars Absorbing.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 June 2017
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Radmila Mileusnic
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 April 2019
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Pollywallydoodle
5.0 out of 5 stars I'm a Diana fan
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 March 2013
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melinda
5.0 out of 5 stars thoroughly enjoyable
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 December 2012
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J. R. Miles
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 May 2013
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