Berkeley, Calif.

The wonderful thing about books of letters is that one can see the letter writers' views on the fly, at various stages of their lives. Letters written over decades are full of the contradictions, joys, griefs, high passions and the mundane moments of real human life as it progresses over the years. Unfortunately, reviewers can, if they choose, pick this or that passing comment from a letter written at some point during the subject's life, compare it with another quote from a letter written on another occasion for another purpose in another stage of life and build a case for any preconceived notion they wish. A collection of letters provides a sandbox for ideologues hunting for a logical consistency that no life possesses.

Charles Taylor has chosen to take that approach in reviewing Decca: The Letters of Jessica Mitford ["Class Consciousness," Dec. 11]. He created a portrait of a Jessica Mitford I don't recognize from the years I spent editing these letters. It's a portrait that won't be familiar, either, to readers or to the many reviewers on two continents who have greeted this book with almost universal acclaim. By selective quotation, misrepresentation and interpretive sleight of hand, Taylor sets up a series of straw men and, with great flourishes, sets them aflame. The approach may be entertaining for ideological pyromaniacs; however, it is not only misleading but--as when I find my own words distorted to fit a critic's preconceptions--personally insulting. Just a few of many possible examples:

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