The correspondence collected here may have come from Dale Shaw’s imagination but there is a rightness to some of the inclusions (Dr Heimlich’s Other Manoeuvre or A letter from the table next to the Algonquin Round Table) that makes you question if, perhaps some of these letters and notes just should have been found crumpled up in some historic waste-paper basket. ~ Sue Baker
A collection of remarkable and completely made-up correspondence from the great and the good across history. Many books have collated the exceptional letters and personal writing of the famous, offering a fascinating insight into well-known figures' personal lives and hidden desires. But what of the undistinguished epistles of the renowned? Can their less auspicious musings divulge clues to their hopes and ambitions? Probably not. But they can be quite funny. 'Letters of Not' assembles the fictional jotted dross that was never before considered worthy of collection. The Post-it notes, the shopping lists, the failed limericks and the birthday card sentiments of history's most celebrated sons and daughters. Inside you will find: Werner Herzog's impassioned note to his cleaning lady Patti Smith's gym application Captain Scott's other last letter to his wife Salvador Dali's to do list Mark E. Smith's audio tour of Ripon Cathedral Harold Pinter greetings cards Pope Benedict's handover notes James Joyce's out of office Dr Heimlich's other manoeuvre A letter from the table next to the Algonquin Round Table Tweets from the 1966 Newport Folk Festival Instructions on what to do when you meet Van Morrison And many more, beautifully rendered in their original, blatantly falsified glory and hilariously transcribed for your pleasure.
Dale Shaw is a comedy writer who has written for a number of successful TV and radio things including Mitchell and Webb, School of Comedy, The Now Show, Russell Howard's Good News, The Impressions Show, Anna & Katy, Watson & Oliver, The News Quiz and some Muller Rice commercials. Letters of Not is his first book.
