Kind Regards: The Lost Art of Letter-Writing by Liz Williams

Author:Liz Williams [Williams, Liz]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General, History, Language Arts & Disciplines, Social History, Composition & Creative Writing, Literary Collections, Letters, Communication Studies, Handwriting
ISBN: 9781843177135
Publisher: Michael O'Mara
Published: 2012-10-10T00:00:00+00:00

The letter that started the diet industry

William Banting was an undertaker and coffin maker. In 1863, he wrote a booklet called Letter on Corpulence, Addressed to the Public, which outlined his personal diet plan in the form of an open letter testimonial.

Banting had tried all kinds of fasts and exercise regimes before being given a diet plan by a doctor. The diet consisted of four meals per day, based around meat, green vegetables, fruit and dry wine. He avoided sugar, starch, beer, milk and butter. In short, it was the first low-carbohydrate diet. It worked – and he proceeded to tell the world of his success.

Banting published his letter at his own expense. It became hugely popular – people would ask ‘Do you Bant?’ referring initially to his method and banting became synonymous with dieting. The third and subsequent editions were published by Harrison, London. Banting’s booklet remains in print today.

Injustice anywhere

Martin Luther King, Jr. was jailed in Birmingham, Alabama, after a non-violent protest against segregation in 1963. The open letter he wrote whilst there – ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’ (16 April 1963) was printed in The Christian Century and The Atlantic Monthly and became one of the most famous open letters ever written. Here is an excerpt:

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