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“Have you more courage than I have? Give me some of it?”
– George Sand (1804—1876), from a letter to Gustave Flaubert (1821—1880), at Nohant, dated September 6, 1871, in: “The George Sand-Gustave Flaubert Letters”, translated from the French by A.L. McKenzie
“So you can’t, you don’t want to say ‘Ty’ [casual form of ‘you’] to me? And I say ‘Ty’ to you all the time. You’ll say it too one day, I know. As for me, my fondness, my love for you, won’t pass, and neither, you hope, will yours for me. You need strong love and I’m happy that you’ve kindled in me such strong and undying love.”
– Leos Janacek (1854—1928), from a letter to Kamila Stosslova (1891—1935), dated May 5, 1927, in: “Intimate Letters: Leoš Janáček to Kamila Janáček”, translated by John Tyrrell
“How long a time it is since I saw your good firm writing! How long it is since we
have talked together! What a pity that we should live so far from each other! I need you very much.”
– Gustave Flaubert (1821—1880), from a letter to George Sand (1804—1876), Croisset, dated 1870, in: “The George Sand-Gustave Flaubert Letters”, translated from the French by A.L. McKenzie
“Darling,
Tell me one thing. I want it answered so much that I can hardly bear to think of a whole week passing before you can reply?
Could you love me so much that if the whole world turned against us,& we were obliged to live alone, given up by society you could live entirely in me?
Could I ever become all the world to you?”
– John Miller (1819—1895), from a letter to Sally Campbell Preston McDowell (1821—1895), dated February 21, 1855, in: “If You Love That Lady Don’t Marry Her: The Courtship Letters of Sally Mcdowell and John Miller, 1854—1856″
“I have missed very much hearing from you. I am so accustomed to getting letters from you when you are away that when I get none I feel as if you had dropped down into a hole from which you could not throw me up any letters.”
– Elsie Rosaline Masson (1890—1935), from a letter to Bronislaw Malinowski (1884—1942), dated August 7, 1935, in: “The Story of a Marriage. The Letters of Bronislaw Malinowski and Elsie Masson”
“Write me I am so lonesome.”
– Carrie Hughes (1873—1938), from a letter to Langston Hughes (1902—1967), Atlantic City, N. J., dated February, 1926, in: “My Dear Boy: Carrie Hughes’s Letters to Langston Hughes, 1926—1938”
“I don’t write to you, I am quite troubled in the depths of my soul. But that will pass, I hope…”
– George Sand (1804—1876), from a letter to Gustave Flaubert (1821—1880), at Nohant, dated September 6, 1871, in: “The George Sand-Gustave Flaubert Letters”, translated from the French by A.L. McKenzie
“I have the unfortunate ability to read the very depths of hearts.”
– Germaine de Staël (1766—1817), from a letter to Benjamin Constant (1767—1830), Coppet, dated April 17, I815, in: “Madame de Staël. Selected correspondence”, translated from the French by Kathleen Jameson-Cemper
“Don’t be upset by all of this, regardless. Better days are coming. But it is a sad return on so much work, deprivation, and suffering. Alas, life is miserable!”
– Arthur Rimbaud (1854—1891), from a letter to his Mother, Marie Catherine, Aden, dated April 30, 1891, in: “I Promise to be Good. The Letters of Arthur Rimbaud”, translated from the French by Watt Mason
“You speak of my desire to gratify all of your wishes. It is the greatest pleasure I have to think that I can do so, but you must remember how little I have done, and how you almost denied me the pleasure of doing even that little, and how chary you have been in permitting it.”
– Nathaniel Dawson (1829—1895), from a letter to Elodie Todd (1840—1877), Winchester, Virginia, dated July 11, 1861, in: “Practical Strangers. The Courtship Correspondence of Nathaniel Dawson and Elodie Todd, Sister of Mary Todd Lincoln”, edited by Stephen Berry and Angela Esco Elder
“Dearest Boy:
Oh! I wish I could see you tonight. I am lonely. Oh! So lonesome to see you. You & I are most always apart. May be that is the way of the world. It is best to only see a little of those we love best!”
– Carrie Hughes (1873—1938), from a letter to Langston Hughes (1902—1967), Atlantic City, N. J., dated February, 1926, in: “My Dear Boy: Carrie Hughes’s Letters to Langston Hughes, 1926—1938”
“Neither the heart nor the mind can embrace what is happening. One thrusts away
the days as if into an already packed suitcase, but they don’t fit in.”
– Olga Freidenberg (1890—1955), from a letter to Boris Pasternak (1890—1960), Leningrad, dated July 12, 1941, in: “The Correspondence of Boris Pasternak and Olga Freidenberg, 1910—1954″, translated from the Russian by Elliott Mossman and Margaret Wettlin
“At last I come to tell you that I am yours. And I pray God to bless us not only in each other but to each other, and to grant us His favor and protection in the important step we are about to take.”
– Sally Campbell Preston McDowell (1821—1895), from a letter to John Miller (1819—1895), dated April 30, 1855, in: “If You Love That Lady Don’t Marry Her: The Courtship Letters of Sally Mcdowell and John Miller, 1854—1856″
“Today, at last, your letter arrived and I’m a human being again, after days of worry and anxiety. I don’t know why but this time I was particularly worried about you.”
– Marie Bader (1886—1942), from a letter to Ernst Löwy (1880—1943), Prague, dated January 14, 1942, in: “Life and Love in Nazi Prague. Letters from an Occupied City. Marie Bader”, translated by Kate Ottevange
“Why is woman so jealous of expressing her feelings, so guarded in telling the promptings of her heart? If it were treason to love you, I could be found guilty from any one of my letters for I cannot conceal the fact. Probably you do not like my style of writing, but I cannot help it & even as my wife I would love & write to you as passionately.”
– Nathaniel Dawson (1829—1895), from a letter to Elodie Todd (1840—1877), Camp near Lynchburg, dated May 9, 1861, in: “Practical Strangers. The Courtship Correspondence of Nathaniel Dawson and Elodie Todd, Sister of Mary Todd Lincoln”, edited by Stephen Berry and Angela Esco Elder
“I love you the way I love certain memories.”
– Gabriela Mistral (1889—1957), from a letter to Doris Dana (1920—2006), dated November 28, 1949, in: “Gabriela Mistral’s Letters to Doris Dana”, translated by Velma Garcia-Gorena
“… I no longer have any personal interest of my own; all my interests
are identical with yours, because my present ambition – and the only purpose for which I drag on this horrible existence (horrible because far from you) – is this: to strive with all my forces (and they are still many!) to make you rich and in control of your destiny, in Art as much as in life.”
– Luigi Pirandello (1867—1936), from a letter to Marta Abba (1900—1988), dated March 1, 1930, in: “Pirandello’s Love Letters to Marta Abba”, translated from the Italian by Benito Ortolani
“I get out very little and am nearly crazy being so lonely, sometimes.”
– Carrie Hughes (1873—1938), from a letter to Langston Hughes (1902—1967), dated February 3, 1938, in: “My Dear Boy: Carrie Hughes’s Letters to Langston Hughes, 1926—1938”
“I don’t have qualities, only fragilities. But sometimes… sometimes I have hope.”
– Clarice Lispector, from a letter to Olga Borelli, dated December 11, 1970, in: “Why This World. A Biography of Clarice Lispector” by Benjamin Moser
“Writing to you is never a burden to me, as evening draws in I feel I must have my chat with you.”
– Elsie Rosaline Masson (1890—1935), from a letter to Bronislaw Malinowski (1884—1942), dated June 4, 1935, in: “The Story of a Marriage. The Letters of Bronislaw Malinowski and Elsie Masson”
“It’s midnight, everyone’s asleep, my radio is softly playing, cigarette’s burning, so I’m all set to write. I sort of like the idea of writing when it’s late because then I know exactly what you’re doing and I can visualize you very vividly. This may sound crazy but do you curl up when you sleep? Hug the pillow, or what? I seem to always write this time of night so since I know that you’re sleeping I want my vision to be as realistic as possible.”
– Mike Royko (1932—1997), from a letter to Carol Joyce Duckman (1934—1979), postmarked April 28, 1954, in “Royko in Love: Mike’s Letters to Carol”, by Mike Royko and David Royko
“I read with ecstasy your dear words about your loving me. You write: ‘Love me.’ But don’t I love you? It’s just that expressing myself in words sickens me, but you could see a lot for yourself, but it’s too bad that you are unable to see. […] And my ecstasy and delight are inexhaustible. […] So as to finish this tirade, I swear that I am dying to kiss every toe on your foot, and I’ll achieve my goal, you’ll see. You write: ‘But what if someone reads our letters?’ Let them, of course; let them be envious.”
– Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821—1881), from a letter to his wife, Anna Dostoevskaya (1846—1918), dated August 28, 1879
“Good Morning Faraway Nearest One:
It’s just six.”
– Alfred Stieglitz (1864—1946), from a letter to Georgia O’Keeffe (1887—1986), Lake George, New York, dated September 23, 1923, in: “My Faraway One. Selected Letters of Georgia O’Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz. Volume 1, 1915—1933″
“It is not only your mind that attaches me to you, it is above all your excellent heart.”
– Joseph Fouche (1759—1820), from a letter to Germaine de Staël (1766—1817), Paris, dated March 24, 1815, in “Madame de Staël. Selected correspondence”, translated by Kathleen Jameson-Cemper
“Today I was hoping for news from you again; I thought there would be some but nothing came. Well, I hope perhaps on Monday. I am alone and am just very full of yearning for you.”
– Marie Bader (1886—1942), from a letter to Ernst Löwy (1880—1943), Karlín, dated Saturday evening, August 2, 1941, in: “Life and Love in Nazi Prague. Letters from an Occupied City. Marie Bader”, translated by Kate Ottevange
“Well you must have dreamt, dreamt at least, that you were my wife, when I dreamt, perhaps the same day, but also only dreamt, that you were standing close to me in some room, in a salon, so
close that I was unutterably hot; then I didn’t know, did I embrace you, or did I only want to embrace you? But I always want to dream about you. It’s said one can’t help one’s dreams, whatever they are. But it was so lifelike that I wished that the beautiful, intoxicating dream wouldn’t stop. And afterwards during the day? One sobers up! Do remember me a little; and I’ll imagine your dreams for myself. My wife! See, how easily it comes! The dear Lord cares for us, and is good! What can’t be in any other way he gives at least as a dream.”
– Leos Janacek (1854—1928), from a letter to Kamila Stosslova (1891—1935), dated July 17, 1924, in: “Intimate Letters: Leoš Janáček to Kamila Janáček”, translated by John Tyrrell
“We are alike in that we are really free in our feelings & we say what we feel – And that seems to be rare – I wonder why – Is it?”
– Alfred Stieglitz (1864—1946), from a letter to Georgia O’Keeffe (1887—1986), New York City, dated January 22, 1918, in: “My Faraway One. Selected Letters of Georgia O’Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz. Volume 1, 1915—1933″
“I’d want just a single answer, just one wish on earth, just a single desire, just a single
certainty: will we belong to each other completely?”
– Leos Janacek (1854—1928), from a letter to Kamila Stosslova (1891—1935), dated May 5, 1927, in: “Intimate Letters: Leoš Janáček to Kamila Janáček”, translated by John Tyrrell
“I have become fairly calm again but for a few days last week I was in an awful state physically. I felt utterly disorientated, weary of life, miserable. I truly believed this could not go on. Then your letter arrived and everything was good, as if all my troubles were blown away.”
– Marie Bader (1886—1942), from a letter to Ernst Löwy (1880—1943), Karlín, dated October 28, 1941, in: “Life and Love in Nazi Prague. Letters from an Occupied City. Marie Bader”, translated by Kate Ottevange
“I wonder what you are to me – it’s like father, mother, brother, sister, best man and woman friend, all mixed up in one – I love you greatly”
– Georgia O’Keeffe (1887—1886), from a letter to Alfred Stieglitz (1864—1946), Canyon, Texas, dated December 14, 1917, in: “My Faraway One. Selected Letters of Georgia O’Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz. Volume 1, 1915—1933″
“I think of you as my wife, dear to me as you ever will be, and happy will be the home when you are given to my care and love.”
– Nathaniel Dawson (1829—1895), from a letter to Elodie Todd (1840—1877), Manassas Junction, dated August 1, 1861, in: “Practical Strangers. The Courtship Correspondence of Nathaniel Dawson and Elodie Todd, Sister of Mary Todd Lincoln”, edited by Stephen Berry and Angela Esco Elder
“ – My mind full of you & me. – Our togetherness. – Its beginning – its state now.”
– Alfred Stieglitz (1864—1946), from a letter to Georgia O’Keeffe (1887—1986), New York City, dated June 8, 1929, in: “My Faraway One. Selected Letters of Georgia O’Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz. Volume 1, 1915—1933″
“Each one of us carries within himself his necropolis.”
– Gustave Flaubert (1821—1880), from a letter to George Sand (1804—1876), dated November 11, 1866, in: “The George Sand-Gustave Flaubert Letters”, translated from the French by A.L. McKenzie
“I no longer write to you to tell you the things that I constantly think about you since I’m well aware that they must leave you cold. But tributes to which you are little less indifferent I hasten to bring to your attanetion.”
– Marcel Proust (1871—1922), from a letter to Anna de Noailles (1876—1933), dated Saturday evening, March 12, 1904, in: “Selected Letters, Vol. 2: 1904—1909”, translated from the French by Terence Kilmartin
“I pray for you nightly”
– Carrie Hughes (1873—1938), from a letter to Langston Hughes (1902—1967), dated June 7, 1935, in: “My Dear Boy: Carrie Hughes’s Letters to Langston Hughes, 1926—1938”
“You are as fine as the white night last night – Yes, your soul is that fine – The world is a hard place for fine souls – ”
– Alfred Stieglitz (1864—1946), from a letter to Georgia O’Keeffe (1887—1986), Lake George, New York, dated September 23, 1923, in: “My Faraway One. Selected Letters of Georgia O’Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz. Volume 1, 1915—1933″
“Your letter has deeply moved me. To the world I seem, by intention on my part, a dilettante and dandy merely – it is not wise to show one’s heart to the world – and as seriousness of manner is the disguise of the fool, folly in its exquisite modes of triviality and indifference and lack of care is the robe of the wise man. In so vulgar an age as this we all need masks.”
– Oscar Wilde (1854—1900), from a letter to Philip Houghton, dated? Late February, 1894, in: “Oscar Wilde: A Life In Letters”
“Above all I love you the way you love me. It is noble, ancient, God-like. I bless you whenever I think of you.”
– Henry Miller (1891—1980), from a letter to Brenda Venus (born 1947), dated 1978, in: “Dear, Dear Brenda: The Love Letters of Henry Miller to Brenda Venus”
“I had a dream about you last night that when I woke up I couldn’t even believe it, that I could dream I was your wife what do you say to it. Such silly things where do we get them from?”
– Kamila Stosslova (1891—1935), from a letter to Leos Janacek (1854—1928), dated July 25, 1924, in: “Intimate Letters: Leoš Janáček to Kamila Janáček”, translated by John Tyrrell
“You know, I can’t really describe the way I feel when I receive and read one of your letters. All the words I know are inadequate. I just feel that everything else is petty and unimportant. Nothing that anyone has done has ever affected me the way that you do.”
– Mike Royko (1932—1997), from a letter to Carol Joyce Duckman (1934—1979), postmarked April 28, 1954, in: “Royko in Love: Mike’s Letters to Carol” by Mike Royko and David Royko
“… Dear one, I do love you. It is such a real and stable thing, and all my memories of you are precious and always will be. As you said once, we make no vows but I do ask one thing of you – be absolutely frank in anything regarding you and me.”
– Elsie Rosaline Masson (1890—1935), from a letter to Bronislaw Malinowski (1884—1942), Melbourne Hospital, dated Sunday, October 21, 1917, 9.30 p.m., in: “The Story of a Marriage. The Letters of Bronislaw Malinowski and Elsie Masson”
“I have been able to say to you many things with my pen, that I could never have uttered with my tongue.”
– Sally Campbell Preston McDowell (1821—1895), from a letter to John Miller (1819—1895), Colalto, dated January 25, 1855, in: “If You Love That Lady Don’t Marry Her: The Courtship Letters of Sally Mcdowell and John Miller, 1854—1856″
“If we were together, you’d feel how strong it is – you’re so sweet when you’re melancholy. I love your sad tenderness – when I’ve hurt you – That’s one of the reasons I could never be sorry for our quarrels – and they bothered you so – Those dear, dear little fusses, when I always tried so hard to make you kiss and forget.”
– Francis Scott Fitzgerald (1896—1940), from a letter to Zelda Fitzgerald (1900—1948), Montgomery, Alabama, dated March, 1919, in: “Dear Scott, Dearest Zelda. The Love Letters of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald”
“I am waiting, I am waiting, I am waiting. Oh, one word from you would give life back to me! If you only knew how my soul is!”
– Luigi Pirandello (1867—1936), from a letter to Marta Abba (1900—1988), April 6, 1929, in: “Pirandello’s Love Letters to Marta Abba”, translated from the Italian by Benito Ortolani
“I am with you all day and all night, and at every instant, my poor dear friend. I am thinking of all the sorrow that you are in the midst of. I would like to be near you. The misfortune of being tied here distresses me. I would like a word so as to know if you have the courage that you need… I can only open a maternal heart to you which will replace nothing, but which is suffering with yours, and very keenly in each one of your troubles.”
– George Sand (1804—1876), from a letter to Gustave Flaubert (1821—1880), Croissset, dated April 9, 1872, in: “The George Sand-Gustave Flaubert Letters”, translated from the French by A.L. McKenzie
