The letters between Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi were originally published in Britain more than ten years ago, in two separate volumes, Freedom's Daughter and Two Alone, Two Together. This book abridges the two earlier volumes into one, with a view to making them more accessible to a wide readership in India.

nothing of The letters have lost nothing of their essence in this abridgement. Every letter of biographical and historical interest has been retained.

Letters of a more routine or ephemeral nature have been left out, while others have been shortened by deleting repetitions, passing references to family members, and humdrum details about matters such as travel plans, dates on which letters were sent and received, and the like.

Indeed, I believe this pruning has brought the personalities and literary styles of Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi into sharper focus.