Historical Fiction Letters: Cold War Spies & Time Travelers
Imagine opening your mailbox to find a letter from a granddaughter uncovering her grandmother's secret life as a Cold War spy, or from a time traveler writing from the California Gold Rush. Historical fiction letters turn the past into personal correspondence, mailed to you one letter at a time.
If you love history but you're tired of textbooks that read like a list of dates, this is history you experience instead of study. And it makes a wonderful gift for the history buff in your life.
Why Historical Fiction Works So Well as Letters
History and letters belong together. For centuries, people recorded their lives in correspondence: soldiers writing home, explorers describing new lands, and ordinary people living through extraordinary times. Many of the most vivid accounts of the past we have today are letters.
Historical fiction letters use that same format. Instead of reading a summary of events after the fact, you hear about them from someone who was there, written in the moment, with all the excitement and uncertainty of not knowing what comes next.
Fiction Mail's Historical Fiction Series
The Time Traveler (4, 8, or 12 letters)
Professor Mellon, a witty and well-traveled time traveler, writes to you from history's most pivotal moments, from the California Gold Rush and Cleopatra's Egypt to an early Elvis concert and the fall of the Berlin Wall. His letters share firsthand accounts and run-ins with the people who shaped history. Choose 4 weekly letters, 8 weekly letters, or 12 monthly letters for a full year of time travel.
★★★★★
"Really cool idea! The time travel story line seemed so much more interesting than some of the other companies stories that do similar tales through the mail. Very happy with purchase so far!"
The Cold War Spy (8 weekly letters)
When Eliza cleans out her late grandmother's apartment, she expects old photographs and keepsakes, not a cryptic journal and a blackbird pendant. Over eight weeks, she uncovers the astonishing truth: her sweet, cookie-baking grandmother was a Cold War spy in the 1950s. It's family history and espionage in one, and a natural fit for anyone who remembers the era. See The Cold War Spy.
Scavenger Hunt (8 weekly letters)
What Sarah thinks is an office team-building game turns real when she finds an old treasure map. Her letters follow a race against rivals and a trail of clues that leads back through centuries of history. See Scavenger Hunt.
The Historical Fiction Bundle (20 weekly letters)
Historical Fiction Bundle
One of our most popular bundles: The Cold War Spy, Scavenger Hunt, and The Time Traveler, mailed back to back for nearly five months of history.
See the BundleFor a bundle about remarkable women, see Letters from Unstoppable Women, which pairs The Cold War Spy with Seeking Justice and Buried Secrets.
What Every Letter Includes
- Your name in the story. You're not just reading about history. The letter writer is confiding in you.
- A realistic handwriting font, letterhead for each series, and the current date.
- A kraft envelope and real mail: the first letter goes by USPS Priority Mail with tracking, and the rest follow by First Class mail.
- A one-time purchase. You buy a series, not a subscription. When the story ends, that's it.
A Gift for History Buffs
Historical fiction letters make a memorable gift for history lovers, teachers, and anyone who finds the past fascinating, especially readers who lived through some of it. We include your personalized gift note with the first letter, and the first letter can be gift wrapped.
Looking for more ideas? See our Fiction Mail Gift Guide, our picks for Father's Day and Grandparents Day, or our gift ideas for senior citizens. Curious about the long tradition of stories told in letters? Read What Is Epistolary Fiction?