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Marcel's Letters
Marcel's Letters: A Font and the Search for One Man's Fate | Carolyn Porter
6 posts | 5 read | 14 to read
A graphic designers search for inspiration leads to a cache of letters and the mystery of one mans 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 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 Marcels 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 Heuz, 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. Marcels Letters is the incredible story of Carolyns increasingly desperate search to uncover the mystery of one mans 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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TheKidUpstairs
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Oh my lord, this was FASCINATING, I didn't want to stop reading!
What begins as a story of Carolyn Porter designing a new font (I LOVE when a book includes information about the typeface, so this filled my geeky heart with joy), builds into a tale of deep-dive genealogical research, a forgotten part of French WWII history, and a beautiful story of familial love. Loved it.

ShelleyBooksie This sounds wonderful. 11mo
59 likes3 stack adds1 comment
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REPollock
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Finished this one just now! Glad I read it but the author continually reframed Marcel‘s life with the kind of hokey “nobility of the common people” theme we tend to hang upon all WW2 non-Nazis. It‘s clear his family was not the roses-&-hugs picture she insists on.

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REPollock
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This #24B42020 readathon is a great one for my first shot at such a thing. Seems like the others I‘ve seen have felt less achievable, like three days to do 24 hours of reading.

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REPollock
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Next ebook for #24b42020 readathon! Made some progress!

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Wife
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I may have found my favorite of 2018 this early in the year. The author bought antique letters written in French with the idea of turning the beautiful writing into a font. After having the letters translated, she became wrapped up in the story of Marcel and his fate. This should be a movie! Also, I received a lovely letter (with French writing on the stationery! 🇫🇷 #coincidence) from @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks #LitsyPenPals

[DELETED] 3803335244 Oh this sounds amazing! Adding it to my tbr!!! Great review 6y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Oh wow!!! That is a coincidence!! And I‘m going to stack that one!! 💗❤️💗❤️ 6y
Wife @ForeverNerdy @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks I‘m sure you will both enjoy it. I envision the movie to be done similarly to Julia & Julia, alternating between present and past. 6y
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[DELETED] 3803335244 @Wife Julia & Julia was one of my favs! 6y
Wife @ForeverNerdy Mine too!❤️ Meryl Streep was so convincing as Julia Child! 6y
SilversReviews This sounds so good...thanks for sharing. 6y
carolynp Hi! I am so, so delighted to hear you loved this book! Aaron chuckled at your comment about Julie&Julia... He's been saying that for years. Thanks for spreading the word about Marcel's Letters! -Carolyn Porter 6y
Wife @carolynp Still rooting for a movie! This is still my favorite 2018 read. ❤️ I‘m happy to read your comment on my post. 6y
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Erynecki
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Marcel's Letters is out on Tuesday. I blurbed it 😊

Partially #setinFrance

LeahBergen I'm intrigued! 7y
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