The National Library of Australia holds millions of letters in its collections: love letters, reports on scientific discoveries, impassioned pleas, newsy notes about the week that’s just been, responses from politicians to members of the electorate, letters to the editor and so many more.

We’ve made a selection of remarkable letters from those millions, and passed them on to modern Australians to write new letters, inspired by those from our collection.

The original letters may have shaped history, confessed love, covered philosophical matters like aging or creativity, or given an insight into the writers’ lives. The modern letters do the same. By turns moving, funny and challenging, this is a collection of letters that will engage and enlarge readers’ sense of empathy and may inspire them to pick up the pen themselves. This book is a testament to the particular power of a letter (or an email, fax or telegram) to shock us, to move us and to warm us.