Welcome to a deep dive into 10 revealing letters that peel back the public façades of some of history’s most iconic personalities. From scandalous advice to heartfelt confessions, these letters let us eavesdrop on private moments that reshape our understanding of these famous figures.
10 Benjamin Franklin’s Advice To A Young Man On The Choice Of A Mistress
Benjamin Franklin, the ever‑curious polymath, was not shy about tackling oddball topics. One recently unearthed letter finds him counseling a young gentleman on the perils of youthful passion. He opens with the conventional line, “Marriage is the proper remedy. It is the most natural State of Man…” but quickly pivots to a startling recommendation: if the young man refuses to wed, he should favor older women. Franklin then enumerates a litany of reasons. First, he claims older women offer superior conversation due to their broader learning. Second, he praises their temperance, noting they are less likely to act on impulse. Third, he points out the practical benefit of avoiding children, which he calls “an inconvenience” if produced irregularly. Fourth, he argues that older women possess more sexual experience and are more readily forgiven if an affair becomes public. Fifth, he delivers a blunt physical observation, suggesting that beneath the girdle, age does not betray a woman’s allure. Sixth and seventh, he notes that the moral weight of the sin is lighter because an older woman is no longer a virgin, and the relationship brings her happiness. Finally, he caps his list with an unexpected gratitude, declaring older women are “so grateful!”
9 Theodore Roosevelt To His Son
Theodore Roosevelt, celebrated as a towering president and vigorous outdoorsman, also wore the hat of a devoted dad. When his son, Theodore Jr., entered college in 1905, the press began to stalk the younger Roosevelt with exaggerated rumors. In two surviving letters, Roosevelt chastises the journalists—calling them “idiots”—and urges his son to keep a low profile. He writes, “The thing to do is to go on just as you have evidently been doing, attract as little attention as possible, do not make a fuss about the newspaper men, camera creatures, and idiots generally…” He stresses that the son should not let the press derail his pursuits, whether on the football field or elsewhere. Throughout the correspondence, Roosevelt’s disdain for the press is evident, yet he balances it with reassurance, warning his son not to let the media “drive you one hair’s breadth from the line you had marked out” in any endeavor.
8 James Joyce’s Correspondence With Nora Barnacle
James Joyce, the literary titan behind Ulysses, was equally fervent in his private life. While living in Trieste in 1909, he penned explicit letters to his beloved Nora Barnacle during a brief business trip to Dublin. These missives oscillate between tender affection and vivid sexual description. Joyce’s prose brims with raw desire, as he calls Nora “my faithful darling, my seet‑eyed blackguard schoolgirl, be my whore, my mistress…” He lavishes her with florid metaphors, dubbing her a “beautiful wild flower of the hedges” and a “dark‑blue rain‑drenched flower,” showcasing a side of Joyce that few readers encounter in his published works.
7 Ernest Hemingway To Marlene Dietrich
Ernest Hemingway, famed for his terse prose, surprised auction houses when a 1955 letter to Hollywood legend Marlene Dietrich surfaced. The note is a bizarre blend of flirtation and theatrical fantasy. Hemingway opens with the affectionate, if oddly phrased, “my dear Kraut” and proceeds to outline a fantastical Broadway act: Dietrich “foaming at the mouth” and the pair breaking into the abortion scene from the opera Lakmé. He even mentions a “giant rubber whale” and describes a ludicrous stage entrance involving a self‑propelled “minnenwerfer” that would roll over patrons as Dietrich lands drunk and naked. While the letter later settles into more conventional romantic language, the initial extravagance reveals Hemingway’s playful imagination. Ultimately, the two never consummated their liaison, citing “unsynchronized passions.”
6 Mary Todd Lincoln After Abraham Lincoln’s Death
First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln endured a cascade of tragedies: the loss of several children, chronic illness, and the horrifying assassination of her husband. Letters she penned in the decade following the 1865 tragedy expose a soul teetering on the edge of despair. In one missive, she confides that the prospect of reuniting with Abraham in a happier realm is the sole beacon sustaining her through “four weary years.” Another letter to her physician reveals a desperate plea for “powders”—likely chloroform—to combat relentless insomnia, writing, “Please oblige me by sending about 4 more powders. I had a miserable night last night & took the 5 you left.” The most haunting correspondence outlines her explicit funeral instructions, a testament to her preoccupation with death and legacy, drafted seven years before her own passing.
5 Franz Kafka’s Odd Love Letters
Franz Kafka, the master of surreal, bureaucratic nightmares, also left a trail of peculiar love letters. To his fiancée Felice Bauer, he confessed an almost clinical self‑assessment: “I’m the thinnest person I know,” and described a solitary lifestyle, insisting he must “sleep alone” and cannot endure close company. He imagined his ideal refuge as “the innermost room of a spacious locked cellar” lit only by a lamp. Kafka’s idiosyncrasies surface when he comments on Bauer’s gold‑capped teeth, noting the “hellish luster” that made him lower his eyes. In a later note to Milena Jesenska, he dramatizes his own anxiety by repeatedly crossing out his name and signature, finally penning, “nothing more, calm, deep forest,” offering a glimpse into his obsessive self‑scrutiny.
4 John Adams’s Letter About George Washington
John Adams, often eclipsed by his more flamboyant contemporaries, penned a sharply critical 1807 letter to his friend Dr. Benjamin Rush regarding the late George Washington. While Washington was lionized as a national hero after his 1799 death, Adams dismissed the adulation as undeserved. He catalogued Washington’s attributes—”handsome face,” “tall stature,” “elegant form,” and “graceful attitudes and movement”—as mere gifts of birth, not earned virtues. Adams conceded only two genuine qualities: “the gift of silence” and “great self‑command.” He concluded with a speculative jab, suggesting that had Washington lived longer, he might have secured a third presidential term, underscoring Adams’ lingering resentment toward the revered first president.
3 Thomas Jefferson On Religion
Thomas Jefferson, a key architect of American secular thought, wrote a candid 1787 letter to his nephew Peter Carr, urging him to question religious doctrine. Jefferson implores, “shake off all the fears and servile prejudices under which weak minds are servilely crouched,” encouraging bold inquiry into the Bible. He goes further, stating, “Question with boldness even the existence of a god; because, if there be one, he must approve of the homage of reason, rather than that of blindfolded fear.” Jefferson’s stance frames religion as an intellectual constraint, positioning reason above reverence, and challenges the notion that the founding fathers were uniformly devout.
2 Jacqueline Kennedy To Father Joseph Leonard
In 1950, a young Jacqueline “Jackie” Bouvier traveled to Ireland and formed a deep, decades‑long correspondence with the 73‑year‑old priest Father Joseph Leonard. Their letters, spanning fourteen years, reveal a side of the future First Lady rarely seen. After President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, Jackie wrote, “I am so bitter against God,” then rationalized that perhaps divine intent required the tragedy to demonstrate the nation’s loss. She also confessed suspicions of her husband’s infidelity, describing his “chase” for conquest and his need for validation even after marriage. Jackie’s critique extended to Kennedy’s mother, Rose, whom she dismissed as “not too bright” and more inclined toward rosary recitation than books. In a poignant passage, she muses, “It seems to me you know everything and from all you’ve read and learned you can pick and choose the most lovely things for me. Does it give you a sense of power to think you’re molding someone else’s mind and taste? I hope it does and certainly no one ever had a more willing piece of putty to work with.”
1 Queen Victoria And John Brown
Queen Victoria, the emblem of Victorian restraint, shared a surprisingly intimate bond with her Scottish servant John Brown. Historians have long debated the nature of their relationship, but a recently examined letter suggests genuine affection. In it, Victoria writes, “Perhaps never in history was there so strong and true an attachment, so warm and loving a friendship between the sovereign and servant…” She extols Brown’s qualities, painting a picture of deep emotional reliance that rivals the devotion she felt for her late husband, Prince Albert. This correspondence underscores that even the most stoic monarchs craved companionship beyond the ceremonial, revealing a softer, more vulnerable side to the iconic queen.
These ten letters, each a window into the private thoughts of celebrated figures, remind us that fame rarely shields the human heart. Whether it’s Franklin’s cheeky counsel, Roosevelt’s paternal protectiveness, or Victoria’s whispered devotion, the written word continues to unravel the mysteries behind the legends.