Lost letters have only one hope for survival . . .Inside the Dead Letters Depot in East London, William Woolf is one of thirty letter detectives who spend their days solving mysteries. Missing postcodes, illegible handwriting, rain-smudged ink, lost address labels, torn packages, forgotten street names - they are all the culprits of missed birthdays, broken hearts, unheard confessions, pointless accusations, unpaid bills and unanswered prayers.When William discovers letters addressed simply to 'My Great Love' his work takes on new meaning.Written by a woman to a soulmate she hasn't met yet, the missives stir William in ways he didn't know were possible. Soon he begins to wonder: Could William be her great love?William must follow the clues in Winter's letters to solve his most important mystery yet: the human heart.
The Lost Letters of William Woolf by Helen Cullen was published by Michael Joseph on 12 July 2018. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review. A version of this review was published in the Daily Express.
William
Woolf is a letter detective, he works in the Dead Letters Depot in London. He
and his colleagues spend every day trying to find the original intended
recipients of the letters that end up in the Depot.
Letters and
packages that have lost their address labels, or are damaged and smudged.
Letters and packages of all shapes and sizes that have been undelivered;
William and his colleagues do their very best to solve these mysteries and to
reunite lovers, to deliver news or a
gift that has gone astray.
William and
his wife Clare fell deeply in love many years ago, but William can feel Clare
slipping away from him. She’s distant and so involved with her work. She’s
inpatient with him and he feels as though he is a disappointment to you.
William originally took the job as a letter detective as a temporary position,
something to tide him over whilst he wrote his book. All these years later,
he’s still there, and the book is still unfinished.
When
William discovers a letter signed by a woman called Winter and addressed to ‘My
Great Love’, he is intrigued. The letter is beautifully written and passionate,
and as more letters from Winter arrive, he becomes convinced that maybe he is
that ‘great love’ that Winter is writing to.
The reader
follows William as he makes every attempt to track Winter down. Running
alongside William’s journey we hear from his wife Clare, and learn so much
about their relationship.
The Lost
Letters of William Woolf is a lyrical and warm story that is written with wit
and wisdom. William and Clare are recognisable by their relationship dilemma
but their strategies for fixing this are unexpected and imaginative.
An enchanting story of lost
love, new love and recapturing love, combined with the magic of writing and
receiving letters.
Helen Cullen is an Irish writer living in London. She worked at RTE (Ireland’s national broadcaster) for seven years before moving to London in 2010. In the UK, Helen established a career as an events and engagement specialist before joining the Google UK marketing team in 2015.The first draft of her debut novel THE LOST LETTERS OF WILLIAM WOOLF was written while completing the Guardian/UEA novel writing programme under the mentorship of Michèle Roberts. Helen holds an M.A. Theatre Studies from UCD and is currently completing an M.A. English Literature at Brunel University.
‘The Lost Letters of William Woolf’ will be published this year, 2018 in UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Germany, Italy and Israel.
Helen is now writing full-time and working on her second novel.
Find out more at : www.helencullen.ie
Twitter: @wordsofhelen
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