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'Sex and the City' sparks flurry of books

25.07.08 Benedicte Page

A fictitious book of love letters by famous men—Love Letters of Great Men—that was featured in the "Sex and the City" movie has inspired three publishers to release collections of romantic epistles.

Love Letters of Great Men is edited by Picador's former deputy publisher Ursula Doyle and will be published by Macmillan on the 15th August. The hardback will be priced £9.99. Publicist Sophie Portas said: "As a result of the film, bookshops were inundated with customer requests for the book that didn't actually exist. Hearing about the sudden demand for this book, Jenny Geras, head of online marketing at Pan Macmillan, came up with the idea to create it."  The collection includes love letters from sources as varied as Pliny, Henry VIII, Mozart, Napoleon and Oscar Wilde.

Love Letters of Great Men will be published shortly before the release of "Sex and the City" on DVD, and Macmillan is promising a "huge" viral marketing campaign, including activity on Facebook. The publisher also intends to release the e-book simultaneously. US rights have been sold for a five-figure sum to St Martin's Press.

Two American publishers have followed the same theme. Filiquarian Publishing produced a volume, Love Letters of Great Men, in June, also citing the "Sex and the City" film.

Kessinger Publishing reproduced a 1920s collection, Love Letters of Great Men and Women: From the 18th Century to the Present Day by C H Charles, last month. 

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