Surviving personal letters are often an important source of information about the lives of historical figures.
They are documents on the daily lives of London writers, artists, political figures and socialites.
Chronicling the lives of historical figures for young people has become a dicey business.
The new proposals include a code of conduct to limit press reports on the private lives of public figures.
A national poll said that 70 percent of the American people thought the press shouldn't report on the private lives of public figures.
Salacious details of the lives of public figures is a central content element in many media.
Radio 4's obituary programme, telling the lives of significant figures who have recently died.
They intrude into the private lives of public figures, pleading the public's 'right to know'.
In her books she has looked deeply into the lives of major figures in English history, searching for facts behind myths.
She said standard social studies textbooks spend only a few sentences on the lives of historical figures.
