LETTERS TO MARGARET

At the end of almost every day of their fifty five years of married life the publicity shy author Margaret Forster would ask the naturally gregarious and outgoing Hunter Davies to describe to her the highlights of his day in the worlds of journalism and publishing In the six years that have elapsed since Margaret s death Hunter has continued these conversations with his wife regaling her with accounts of the events and developments in his life domestic social romantic book related health related and others through a sequence of Letters to Margaret The letters are pure Hunter Davies a feast of gossipy stream of consciousness that weaves together strands of confession self mockery anecdote and touching remembrance of married happiness with Margaret Entertaining informative irreverent and indiscreet and sometimes very touching Letters to Margaret reveals an eighty seven year old Hunter still raging against the dying of the light and seeking consolation for life s frustrations and disappointments and the loneliness of widowerhood through a sustained conversation with the woman he shared his life with for more than half a century