💌 Love Letters of Great Men: Romance, Obsession & The Human Heart

💌 Love Letters of Great Men: An Evening of Readings & Conversation

What can you tell about a person from the way they write “I love you”?
From Napoleon’s fiery notes to Joséphine, to Beethoven’s mysterious Immortal Beloved letters, to Johnny Cash’s tender birthday letter to June Carter — love letters capture people at their most unguarded.
Some are poetic, some obsessive, some funny, some… let’s just say “a little too much.”
In this discussion, we’ll read and react to some of history’s most famous love letters, which can all be found for free with a google search:

### 1. Napoleon Bonaparte → Joséphine de Beauharnais

• Search: Napoleon's love letters to Josephine
• Famous one starts: "I awake consumed with thoughts of you..."

### 2. Ludwig van Beethoven → “Immortal Beloved”

• Search: Beethoven Immortal Beloved letter
• Written July 6–7, 1812 — begins "My angel, my all, my very self..."

### 3. Oscar Wilde → Lord Alfred Douglas (“Bosie”)

• Search: Oscar Wilde De Profundis (for the long prison letter) or Oscar Wilde love letters to Bosie
• Famous excerpt: "My own boy, your sonnet is quite lovely..."

### 4. John Keats → Fanny Brawne

• Search: John Keats love letters to Fanny Brawne
• Famous one starts: "I cannot exist without you..."

### 5. Mark Twain → Olivia Langdon

• Search: Mark Twain love letters to Olivia Langdon
• Famous line: "I take you for better or worse, without a thought of heaven or hell..."

### 6. Johnny Cash → June Carter Cash

• Search: Johnny Cash letter to June Carter birthday
• Written in 1994 — begins: "Happy Birthday Princess..."

We’ll talk about:

• How love letters reflect personality, culture, and the times
• What’s timeless about romance — and what makes us cringe in 2025
• Whether today’s texts & DMs can ever match the beauty of a handwritten letter
• Are emojis like 🍆 and 🍑 the modern version of love letters?

📜
Read the Letters which can be found free online and we will discuss them on the event day.