How to Write Letters

Crowther, Mary OwensProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.9

Word count: 330K words
Chapters: 33

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.How to Write Letters (Formerly The Book of Letters) by Mary Owens CrowtherAuthor: Crowther, Mary Owens,Language: English, Class: PE: Language and Literatures: English, Release Date: Aug 2, 2007

Editor's review

Originally titled The Book of Letters and later circulated as How to Write Letters, this is a practical guide to English letter writing. In an age of email and instant messaging, its value lies more in the history of style and in writing practice: the formats, forms of address, and conventions of wording it presents help readers understand the etiquette and expressive habits of traditional English correspondence. For readers who need to write formal English emails, application letters, or business correspondence, its principles remain useful for reference; for English learners, it is also good material for observing formal written style. A caveat: the book was written long ago, and some formats and usages bear the marks of their era; they should not be copied mechanically but adapted to contemporary communication contexts. Overall, it is a useful reference work for writing and for observing style.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Professionals who need to write formal English emails or correspondence
English learners who want to make their written English more conventional
Readers interested in the evolution of letter-writing style and correspondence etiquette

Not a good fit for

Readers looking for contemporary business writing templates and up-to-date formats
Readers seeking guidance on writing letters in Chinese
Readers who need copywriting tips for instant messaging or social media

Reading tips

Read selectively by letter type, consulting first the chapters that match your own writing needs.
Compare with contemporary email examples as you read, noting which formats still apply and which are outdated.
Do imitation exercises based on your own writing tasks, turning the book's principles of wording into practical ability.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Are the writing conventions in this book still usable today?

The book's letter structures and etiquette principles remain useful for reference, but because it was written long ago, some formats and usages bear the marks of their era. Readers are advised to adapt them to contemporary communication habits and treat the book as a reference for style rather than a template to copy.

Is it suitable for preparing English business emails?

It can serve as a reference. The book discusses the formats, forms of address, and wording of English letters, and these principles offer useful lessons for formal email writing; specific templates, however, need to be adjusted to contemporary business contexts, and old-fashioned expressions should not be applied directly.

Is this book in Chinese or English?

According to the information, the book is in English and falls under the English language category within language and literature. Readers need some English reading ability; the content focuses on the conventions of English letter writing.

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About the author

Crowther, Mary Owens Author

Mary Owens Crowther is an author about whom very little public information is available. Her nationality, dates of birth and death, and full educational background remain unclear, and the only verified information in our records shows that she wrote one work, How to Write Letters. Judging from its title and subject, the book is a practical guide to writing, intended for readers who need to master the format, wording, and etiquette of correspondence; it focuses on explaining concrete problems in everyday communication rather than on literary expression. Guides of this kind usually stress clear structure, appropriate tone, and accurate expression, and in the era before email they offered real help to ordinary readers seeking to improve their written communication. Because biographical material is lacking, the author's detailed life, other works, and the wider influence of her writing still require further verification.