A Woman Speaks
The public voice of the same years — these letters are its private counterpart.
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Letters to a Friend in Australia
by Anaïs Nin
The fame years by airmail: Nin's letters to the Australian bookseller David Pepperell, 1968 to 1974.
- 1992
About Anaïs Nin
The story, briefly
Spoiler-freeA small, warm collection from the far edge of Nin's correspondence: the letters she wrote from 1968 to 1974 to David Pepperell, an Australian bookseller and publisher who had written to her as an admirer and became a regular correspondent. Published in 1992, the letters catch the famous Nin in her generous register — encouraging, book-recommending, reporting the tours and the work — to a reader she never needed anything from. (Letters — nothing to spoil.)
The story, in more detail
The Diary's success buried Nin in mail, and her answering habits became part of the legend: she replied, seriously, to strangers. The Pepperell correspondence shows what could grow from that habit — a bookseller in Melbourne writing to an author in Los Angeles, and six years of letters following: literary talk, career advice, the texture of the lecture years, and the practical warmth Nin reserved for the young people building lives around books.
Published in Australia in 1992, the collection is one of the smallest Nin volumes and one of the most liked by readers who find it: the public figure of the seventies with the performance off, writing to someone simply because he had written to her.
What's inside
Six years of letters, 1968–1974: replies that became a correspondence; talk of books, publishing, and the Australian literary scene from a distance; reports from the tours and honors of the fame years; and the steady encouragement of a young bookman's projects — the whole in the direct, generous register of Nin's late correspondence.
Why we recommend it
The performance off
The seventies icon writing with nothing at stake — the late voice at its most natural.
The reader's-side view
What it was actually like to write to Anaïs Nin and be answered — the fame years from the mailbox.
A collector's find
Small printing, far from the usual channels — among the scarcer corners of the shelf.
What this book explores
Timeline
1968
Pepperell's fan letter reaches Nin; her reply begins the correspondence.
1968–1974
Six years of letters across the Pacific, through the height of the fame years.
1992
The collection is published in Australia.
Book editions
Paperback
- Paperback
- 1992
Reader reviews
Readers may also like
The Diary of Anaïs Nin, 1966–1974
The fame years the letters report from, in the diary's telling.
Read our take
Anaïs Nin Letters
The other fan-turned-correspondent volume — the same habit, another continent.
Read our takeLetters to a Friend in Australia: frequently asked questions
What is Letters to a Friend in Australia?
A small collection of Anaïs Nin's letters, written from 1968 to 1974 to the Australian bookseller and publisher David Pepperell, published in 1992.
Who was David Pepperell?
A Melbourne bookseller and publisher who wrote to Nin as an admirer in 1968; her replies grew into a six-year correspondence.
Did they ever meet?
The friendship was conducted by post — the letters themselves are the relationship, which is much of the collection's charm.
What do the letters cover?
Books and publishing, encouragement of Pepperell's projects, and news from the lecture tours and honors of Nin's famous years.
Is it a good introduction to Nin?
No — it is a specialist's pleasure. Start with the Diary; come here for the late voice with the performance off.