Letters from a Life. Selected Letters and Diaries of Benjamin Britten. Volume 1 & 2, 1923 - 39 & 1939 - 45.

Donald Mitchell and Philip Reed. Benjamin Britten.

ISBN 10: 0571164056 / ISBN 13: 9780571164059

Published by Faber & Faber, London, 1991, 1991

About this Item

First edition. Hardback. 2 vols. A fine set in near fine, slightly edge worn and spine faded dust jackets in near fine slip-case. Please be aware that this set is heavy and therefore extra postage may be requested.

Seller Inventory # C213573

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Letters from a Life. Selected Letters and Diaries of Benjamin Britten. Volume 1 & 2, 1923 - 39 & 1939 - 45.
• Publisher: Faber & Faber, London, 1991
• Publication Date: 1991
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0571164056
• ISBN 13: 9780571164059
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Fine

About this title

Synopsis

This two-volume set of letters sheds new light on the composer Benjamin Britten's personal and musical life. "Volume One, 1923-39" opens with a letter from Britten, aged ten, to his mother Edith. This first volume includes the period he spent at the Royal College of Music where he meets influential new friends, among them W.H.Auden and Christopher Isherwood. It was during this period that Britten met Peter Pears, the partner with whom his musical and personal relationship was to last a lifetime. Volume one ends in May 1939 when Britten sets out, accompanied by Pears, for North America. The letters from "Volume Two, 1939-45" are among the most fascinating of the correspondence, offering an extraordinary over-view of a crucial period in American and British history and culture. These were years of intense musical activity for Britten - at the same time his personal relationship with Pears deepened. On their return to England from America in 1942, Britten and Pears were exposed to general public hostility as conscientious objectors and suspected homosexuals. Even the triumphant premiere of "Peter Grimes" in 1945 was not unaffected by prejudice and subterfuge.