If Ever Two Were One: A Private Diary of Love Eternal

by Francis Ellingwood Abbot and Brian A. Sullivan

Book Overview

That is the daguerreotype of my darling's innocent and beautiful soul ... her soul was the violet of my home, fragrant with heaven's own breezes, and lovely with a modest charm that kept me and keeps me her lover as in the days of yore. --Francis Ellignwood Abbot, 1894

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060564113
• ISBN13: 9780060564117
• Release Date: February 2004
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.56 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 7.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

AMAZING JOURNEY TO MY PAST

I bought one of these in first edition about a year ago And could not believe the beauty and sincerity Frank demonstrated for his wife. I so enjoyed the book I bought several more as gifts for those in my family who are prone to tender sensibiities and are incorrigable romantics. Katie Loring's name struck a chord in my genealogical past and after a year of searching, I find Katie and her family are cousins. It doesn't get any better than that...Thank you thank you thank you...

Endearing 19th century Journal

I really enjoyed reading this collection of letters and journal entries, though I felt like I was prying at times into Frank's personal reflections that he never anticipated being read by a stranger. It was fascinating to read about all the famous writers Frank Abbot had friendships with: Darwin, Thoreau, and Emerson, to name a few. Frank's journal entries about his friendships made such famous writers and thinkers seem more personal.The book has a slow start - It begins with Frank's courtship with his lifelong love Katie. The first half of the book is a collection of letters between these two, consisting mainly of adolescent pinings of "I love you more" "No, I love YOU more" kind of correspondence. Sweet, but it gets a little tiring. I guess it seems trite today, but to Frank and Katie it was sincere. The last half of the book is much more interesting. It follows Frank and Katie's life together, surviving a series of hardships, the worst of which are the deaths of several children. The book is definitely worth reading, if only to absorb the life of an amazing individual who sustained an unending love for his wife. I'm grateful that I was able to know Frank, if only through his letters.

Touching, Historic, a Great Read!

A touching compilation of diaries. A look into one man's love and losses in 19th century New England. I couldn't put it down.