• Hadley Freeman may be right that maleness seemed a necessary factor in acquiring confidence (Weekend, 13 January), but it is not sufficient. Neither I, nor my male friends leaving Huddersfield in the late 1960s for elite universities, managed the trick: we didn’t have the social class.
Neil Hanson
Huddersfield
• Admire your fat body (Opinion, 16 January), but be reminded of future medical issues. I am in my 60s with a prediabetes warning. I should have been aware of the dangers of sugar and carbs years ago.
Lorrie Marchington
High Peak, Derbyshire
• In her excellent article about Mary Shelley (Review, 13 January, Fiona Sampson writes: “his [Percy Shelley’s] timing was staggeringly poor: even during her first pregnancy he had pressurised 17-year-old Mary to sleep with his best friend…” To reference that sort of coercive control and abuse and comment only on its “timing” made me wince. Poor Mary, she didn’t only suffer from being underrated and dismissed in literary circles.
Linda Maughan
Hartlepool
• “Seven ways to avoid eye strain” (G2, 16 January). Great sense of humour to include this on day one of the new Guardian. Off to buy a magnifying glass!
Delia Jack
East Wittering, West Sussex
• Rather than divorcing my husband of 51 years (Letters, 15 January), I grabbed a pair of scissors and some staples.
Barbara Rogers
Cambridge
• With a bit of luck, I think I can fold a tabloid Journal section to fit inside a 35mm film canister.
Bob Corkey
Tralee, Co Kerry, Éire
• Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com
• Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters
