Letters for the Ages Great Musicians

James Drake, Edward Smyth

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English

Bloomsbury
06 January 2026

Music; Individual composers & musicians, bands & groups; Diaries, letters & journals; Anthologies (non-poetry)

Series: Letters for the Ages

A collection of letters written through the ages from musicians of all genres, from Mozart to Elton John.

For tens of thousands of years, across various civilisations, our species has been creating music. But what is behind the human fascination with music? This new volume in the Letters for the Ages series explores that question through the personal correspondence of history’s most brilliant musical talent, ranging from Hildegaard of Bingen to Amy Winehouse.

Spanning from the 12th to the 21st centuries, the letters assembled in this collection combine to delve into musicians’ personal relationship with music and the creative process behind their greatest works of art. Witness your musical idols, warm-hearted and compassionate, arrogant and angry, insecure and egocentric, defeated and morose.

The letters give a rare insight into the innermost thoughts of these great musicians who have created some of the most recognisable and beautiful music ever heard. But despite the mass of talent within these pages, these letters also provide the realisation that even the most extraordinary music has been created by normal people with everyday worries and preoccupations.

Edited by: James Drake, Edward Smyth
Imprint: Bloomsbury
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 236mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 30mm
Weight: 480g
ISBN: 9781399419468
ISBN 10: 1399419463
Series: Letters for the Ages
Pages: 288
Publication Date: 06 January 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Edward Smyth is a writer, editor and professional fundraiser. He holds under- and post-graduate degrees in music, and an MA in theology, from Durham University and a further master’s degree in criminology from Oxford. Edward is the Chair of Sing Inside, a small charity delivering singing workshops in prisons, and is Head of Development at the Prison Reform Trust. James Drake is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and Founder at Of Lost Time, an innovative literary unit which uncovers the hidden stories of the past through the power of personal correspondence.