The Simple Things

Taking time to live well
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Taking Time to Live Well

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Photograph by @snelle_mail

Photograph by @snelle_mail

Lists | Famous Penfriends

Iona Bower June 15, 2021

In our June issue we celebrate the joy of penpal letters. Here are a few famous penpals whose correspondence we’d love to sneak a look at…


JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis

Tolkien and Lewis were great mates and kept up the friendship via letters, too. Though both rather serious literary figures, apparently their letters were full of fun. 

Catherine The Great and Voltaire

Even rulers and philosophers need to unburden themselves sometimes. This pair corresponded for some 15 years. 

PG Wodehouse and Agatha Christie

Showing it’s never too late to get a penpal, Wodehouse and Christie began their correspondence when he was 88 and she was 79. They were both huge fans of the other’s work. 

Charles Darwin and Joseph Hooker

Darwin wrote to botanist, Hooker, for many years, even setting out his early idea that animal species ‘might not be immutable’ years before he wrote about evolution fully in On The Origin of Species. 

Henry James and Edith Wharton

These two great novelists corresponded for most of their adult lives, unburdening themselves about their personal troubles in letters (Wharton had an unhappy marriage and James suffered with depression). 

Vincent and Theo Van Gogh

The artist was a prolific letter writer, but the person he wrote to most frequently was his brother Theo, who kept them all carefully, and many of them can still be read today. Sadly, his less careful brother Vincent destroyed most of Theo’s letters back to him. There’s brotherly love for you.


Read more about penfriends, how to find them, what to write to them and more in our June issue, on sale now.

Buy this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

More from our June issue…

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Outdoors | Camping Truths
May 17, 2025
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May 13, 2025
Nature | Why Birds Sing at Dawn
May 13, 2025
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May 10, 2025
Recipe | Spring Beans on Toast
May 10, 2025
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More letter-writing inspiration…

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Jun 15, 2021
Lists | Famous Penfriends
Jun 15, 2021
Jun 15, 2021
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Aug 11, 2020
Wish you were here
Aug 11, 2020
Aug 11, 2020
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Aug 21, 2019
Playlist | Songs about letters
Aug 21, 2019
Aug 21, 2019
InThink Tagsletters, penfriends, writing
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  Buy ,  download  or  subscribe   See the sample of our latest issue  here   Buy a copy of our latest anthology:  A Year of Celebrations   Buy a copy of  Flourish 2 , our wellbeing bookazine  Listen to  our podcast  - Small Ways to Live Well
Feb 27, 2025
Feb 27, 2025

Buy, download or subscribe

See the sample of our latest issue here

Buy a copy of our latest anthology: A Year of Celebrations

Buy a copy of Flourish 2, our wellbeing bookazine

Listen to our podcast - Small Ways to Live Well

Feb 27, 2025
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The Simple Things is published by Iceberg Press

The Simple Things

Taking time to live well

We celebrate slowing down, enjoying what you have, making the most of where you live, enjoying the company of of friends and family, and feeding them well. We like to grow some of our own vegetables, visit local markets, rummage for vintage finds, and decorate our home with the plunder. We love being outdoors and enjoy the satisfaction that comes with a job well done.

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