The Lost Letters of William Woolf – Helen Cullen

Have you ever wondered what happens to letters that may not reach their intended destinations? Well they end up at the Royal Mail’s Dead Letters Depot. Welcome to the wondrous debut novel by Helen Cullen just released. The Lost Letters of William Woolf (Michael Joseph). This particular Dead Letters Depot is in East London and this is where William Woolf and the team try and solve the mystery of those letters that for one of many reasons don’t make it through the letterbox. But there is more to this love letter to the written word. And oh what a divine cover. I am not sure who designed it but they need congratulating.

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I have to say, when I first heard of the premise of this novel I was already sold even before a copy of the advanced review had arrived. I was simply going to love the idea of lost letters.

For William who works at the depot, he always wanted to be a writer but never made it. He is married to Clare after they met at university, their relationship is just ticking along as the fire that was there has diminished. Clare’s hopes for William have not come to fruition. William clearly enjoy solving lost letters. Their relationship is drifting like a boat on an open ocean not quite sure where they are heading or why. They are lost. Can they be found before it is too late, or is already too late?

One day William discovers a lost letter, that is addressed ‘My Great Love’ and William then discovers that is has been sent by someone called Winter. William is now hooked and more of the letters start to find their way into the Lost Letters Depot. For William he now is starting to think that she is looking for him and that the letters are actually meant for him to find. Is William the great love that Winter talks of?

I have to say I loved the characters in William and Clare, they have their problems in life and for William some may think that he is just dreaming or living a fantasy. Either way it is utterly compelling and wonderful. The art of letter writing is not dead after all. There is hope contained within the pages of this moving novel. I was lost in the beautiful lyrical prose of Helen Cullen’s The Lost Letters of William Woolf. The perfect book for Summer.

336 Pages.

Thank you to Gaby Young at Michael Joseph for the review copy of The Lost Letters of William Woolf by Helen Cullen.

The Lost Letters of William Woolf is published Michael Joseph and was published on 12^th July 2018 and is available through Waterstones, Amazon and through your local independent bookshop.