The Missing Ink

"Acclaimed British novelist Hensher . . . provides a droll and eclectic tour of handwriting history" —Booklist.

"Rediscover the joys of writing. . . . Like a charming dinner guest, [Hensher] brims with fun facts, good humor and amusing reminiscences . . . [He] enlivens his musings about penmanship's demise with sharp insights and wry wit." ―The New York Times Book Review

When Philip Hensher realized that he didn't know what a close friend's handwriting looked like, he felt that something essential was missing from their friendship. It dawned on him that having abandoned pen and paper for keyboards, we have lost one of the ways by which we come to recognize and know another person. People have written by hand for thousands of years—how, Hensher wondered, have they learned this skill, and what part has it played in their lives?

The Missing Ink tells the story of this endangered art, investigating historical changes in script, the role handwriting plays in the novels of Charles Dickens, and the claims made by the practitioners of graphology that penmanship can reveal personality. Hensher also celebrates the physical act of writing, paying tribute to the warmth and personality of the handwritten love note, postcards sent home, and daily diary entries.

With the teaching of handwriting now required in only five states and many expert typists barely able to hold a pen, the future of handwriting is in jeopardy. Or is it? Hugely entertaining, witty, and thought-provoking, The Missing Ink will inspire readers to pick up a pen and write.

"A winningly casual mix of cultural history and personal anecdote." —San Francisco Chronicle

"The wisest and wittiest argument imaginable for the preservation of handwriting . . . I am compelled to recommend it to everyone." ―The Literary Review