What do others think of the Letters?

This page will contain reviews and comments after the book has been published. In the meantime, here are brief comments by some of those who have read part or the entire book in earlier drafts.

Constanza Dessain, age 16, sixth form student, Edinburgh, Scotland

‘I really enjoyed the chapter ‘Love and Friendship’… I think it’s very good… I found it really fascinating. I read the introductory letters, I think they’re lovely, they put the book in context and add a lot.’

Miriam Franklin, age 17, sixth form student,  London, England

‘I genuinely think it’s wonderful. I can’t even tell you how refreshing it is, as a teenager, to be addressed intelligently and coherently, rather than the patronising drivel that I think teenagers have come to expect from books aimed at us. I really do not think that the tone is in any way patronising, or aimed too low. On the contrary it’s clear, but intellectual. Personally, I think it’s a challenging read, but that’s how it should be. I really, really enjoyed it, and can’t wait to get my hands on the next few chapters.’

Mark Turin, doctoral student, Leiden University, Holland

‘The book is quite lovely and just perfect in style and content. I think that it will not only sell but also be something that Lily will carry with her through life. I can only imagine what it would have been like were my grand father to have done something like this! You have succeeded in covering the whole of humanity and civilization in a few pages, and it is a wonderful distillation of all those Alan Macfarlane lectures that students in Cambridge have so loved over the years. I think that it would make an excellent introduction to anthropology book which students might want to read before coming to Cambridge also…’

Dr Tim Jenkins, Dean of Jesus College, Cambridge, England

‘The idea of the ‘Letters’ is such a good one that everybody ought to try and write their own (at a certain stage)… the letter on justice, I thought was inspired… the two letters on God and Ritual were utterly clear… they read beautifully… it’s a brilliant project’.

Sally Dugan, sixth form teacher and author, Oxfordshire, England

‘I may be 30+ years older than your target reader, but I found myself completely gripped by the questions you raise. It’s a salutary reminder of just how much we take for granted – and, for that reason, I suspect your eventual readership will be much wider than the one you envisage. I think the second half of ‘Why Write to You’ is almost perfect as it stands. I love the biblical rhythms of the prose, which makes it one of the most moving and beautifully expressed statements about the human condition I have read for a long time.’

Kim Prendergast, first year secondary school teacher, Sheffield, England

‘It’s really a fantastic read; informative and far-reaching without being overwhelming, addressing modern life by sifting through the past… I think that it’s perfectly pitched and enjoyed the informal and personal comments you make to Lily over the course of the book.’

David Dugan, television producer and Managing Director of Windfall Films, London, England

‘I think the idea of the ‘Letters to Lily’ is brilliant. The preface sets up the ambition of the book well – the quest to understand the ‘deeper laws behind the froth of surface events’.  The chapter on law and the Inquisition I thought was a model of what you should be striving to achieve… lots of contemporary resonance… but also a very clear non-jargon summary of the evolution of the English legal system… I think it could be a classic!’

Xialong Guan, Chinese translator and college teacher, Beijing, China

‘This book strikes me as very, very necessary to young people and other people. Not only does it explain how the world and society work, etc. to them, it also arouses their attention to things, and sets them thinking about problems.’

John Davey, literary agent, Oxford, England

‘It looks a really terrific idea – the kind of book that my children should read and I think would leap at reading. Also a book that parents would borrow from their children. You’ve pinpointed just the kind of questions children and adults do think and worry about…. It’s a winner.’

Fred Rickard, Former Lincolnshire Education Officer, historian

‘I hope that all goes well with you and that your publisher realises what a gem he has on his hands and hence that he gets on with publishing the letters to Lily’

Inge Harrison, Lily's mother

'As Lily's mum I was both apprehensive and sceptical about letters being written to my daughter. But as I read the Letters I was enchanted. They are wise, funny and helpful. I've learnt a lot from them. Lily is already proud to have them addressed to her. They come out of a special relationship between Alan and Lily which has blossomed from the moment she was born. Lucky Lily, lucky Alan - and lucky readers!'