Finalist for the 2018 Minnesota Book AwardA graphic designer’s search for inspiration leads to a cache of letters and the mystery of one man’s fate during World War II.Seeking inspiration for a new font design in an antique store in small-town Stillwater, Minnesota, graphic designer Carolyn Porter stumbled across a bundle of letters and was immediately drawn to their beautifully expressive … beautifully expressive pen-and-ink handwriting. She could not read the lettersthey were in Frenchbut she noticed all of them had been signed by a man named Marcel and mailed from Berlin to his family in France during the middle of World War II.
As Carolyn grappled with designing the font, she decided to have one of Marcel’s letters translated. Reading it opened a portal to a different time, and what began as mere curiosity quickly became an obsession with finding out why the letter writer, Marcel Heuzé, had been in Berlin, how his letters came to be on sale in a store halfway around the world, and, most importantly, whether he ever returned to his beloved wife and daughters after the war.
Marcel’s Letters is the incredible story of Carolyn’s increasingly desperate search to uncover the mystery of one man’s fate during WWII, seeking answers across Germany, France, and the United States. Simultaneously, she continues to work on what would become the acclaimed P22 Marcel font, immortalizing the man and his letters that waited almost seventy years to be reunited with his family.
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The story behind a woman building a new font. Very interesting and informative. Enjoyed all she went through to find the story behind the letters.
This interesting memoir of the aithor’s compulsive researching, provides the education of a college level course. I’ve spoken to many, who were also unaware of these practices of WWW II. It is all the more readable, since this history is interwoven in a true love story, that was the autor’s inspiration. Truly enlightening.
This story was not only true but was quite interesting as the author tried to uncover how Marcel’s letters ended up in an American “antique” store. The letters were from WW2 and the author was so taken with his creative cursive writing, she wanted to make a font from it. However, after having the letters translated from their original French, she was drawn into his history.
An autobiographical personal quest to discover the writer and recipients of
lost letters from WWII. This dual family history is written with integrity and the historical research describes past as well as contemporary family history at the most intimate level. The author’s determination and perseverance make this well written snapshot of one families WWII experiences well worth reading.
Love it
One of the best books ever!
A bundle of old letters in an antique shop was the catalyst for the journey that ultimately included travel to Europe in this incredible true account of the development of a decorative font eventually named “Marcel” – for the real person whose handwriting the graphic artist/author used as her model.
I am a huge history buff and I loved this book. It was a great story. I learned so much.
This was such an interesting book. It was interesting to learn about the author’s profession, something I knew nothing about. The story behind the letters is an unexpected page-turner. There were so many questions — why was Marcel in Berlin? What happened to him? What happened to his family? It was amazing to see how the right experts came along at the right time to answer questions, and how every time a question was answered, new questions arose. I learned a lot about the terrible conditions people survived in WWII, and although there were some difficult things to read about, it wasn’t as overwhelming as some historical books. The overall story was positive and uplifting. There was a lot of love in this book, and I’m glad I decided to try something that was new for me.
Amazing story – one of those that the way everything worked out was so special!
It was a bit slow at first because the author is truly dedicated to her art form which I find commendable. After she really gets involved in solving the mystery of the letters then she weaves her web and one is caught! Very good. Love non fiction.
Could have been a much better book. The story was there but the author spent too much time talking about fonts. Fonts might be interesting to her but I couldn’t care less.
I really enjoyed this book. I couldn’t wait to find out more about Marcel and his story just a beautiful story you are also caught up in the author’s story I’m afraid I didn’t totally understand the font part but am very happy she got it published
The story is a little drawn out, but heartfelt.
Wonderful true story. I loved her passion to find out about the letters but I really think the story got bogged down a bit when she talked about fonts. Otherwise, it’s a good story
I was drawn to Marcel’s Letters for their central feature: letters from a gentleman by the name of Marcel written from Berlin at the height of World War II and mailed to France. An avid reader of WWII histories, and particularly those with a connection to France, I thought this would be right up my alley. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
For starters, the letters themselves are a scant handful covering a few months’ time. They’re interesting, sure, but don’t form the bulwark I had expected. More problematic for me was the overbearing presence of author Carolyn Porter, and all her various neuroses. Even having read the book, I cannot understand how or why this woman became obsessed with uncovering the story behind these letters, nor how, even upon ultimately uncovering what happened to Marcel she still could not let go of the questions around how the letters ultimately made their way to her. (Or, more specifically, to a flea market in France where they were purchased by the owners of antiques stores in the U.S., where she ultimately purchased them.) Her (fairly vicious) comments in the afterward in regards to a woman who may or may not have other letters added a level of acidity to otherwise run-of-the-mill annoying.
The full backstory is that Porter purchased the letters because she was drawn to the handwriting and wanted to use it to design a font. Great. The font, which she ultimately named for Marcel, could also be called classical French, so typically traditional was his handwriting. I will grant that no such font existed, and I might have been more interested in the process involved in designing a font, if the process, in this case, were not rife with commentary on everything Porter did not know about World War II and tears, tears, tears. Everything gets to her. The project – not the font, but the search for the man – consumes her life. Her coping skills seem to be minimal.
The unexpected star of the book is Aaron, Porter’s husband, who maintains a sense of humor, calm, and equanimity throughout. The glimpses the handful of letters do offer into life in Germany during WWII are interesting, but in hindsight it would have been more enjoyable for me to read only the letters.
Two stars.
(This review was originally published at https://www.thisyearinbooks.com/2020/01/marcels-letters-font-and-search-for-one.html)
Being a font-nerd AND WWII-nerd, this book was full of interesting and informational tidbits (and some mighty big chunks – esp in regard to WWII practices not typically spoken of). I related well to the author and so much of this multi-layered book has stayed with me. The writing is realistic and the search for Marcel and his family a true page turner. It’s really 3-4 stories rolled into one – like real life.
What a wonderful story, but what foul language! I had to quit reading a quarter of the way into it because the language was so offensive. So sorry about that. I love history, and would have liked to see how the story ended, but not enough to gloss over the profanity.
An absolutely fabulous account dealing with World War II history all the way to the present. Also learned about how a font is developed. I had no idea how much work is involved. A wonderful read, highly recommend it.
What an outstanding journey all because of a beautifully written M. Marcel represents so many young fathers who made Life altering choices in the best interest of family. Further, this is a true account. To applaud Mrs. Porter for her research and endeavor neither does her justice or Marcel. Her mention of familiar fonts kept me in the now while Marcel’s letters took me back to war riddled time. A fabulous journey this book. I am so pleased I read it.