Title: Unopened Love Letters from 18th-Century France Provide an Intimate Glimpse into the Past
London — Recently discovered unopened love letters from 18th-century France have brought to light the intimate details of romance and daily life during that era. These precious artifacts, which sat sealed in Britain’s National Archives for nearly 250 years, offer a unique perspective, shedding light on the emotions and experiences of women during a tumultuous time.
The collection comprises over 100 letters, most of which were written by women who were mothers, fiancées, and sisters of French sailors serving on the warship Galatée. The vessel was captured by the British navy on April 8, 1758. As history professor Renaud Morieux stumbled upon this treasure trove in 2004, he embarked on a journey of uncovering remarkable stories about love, longing, and resilience.
Unlike many historical documents that predominantly feature men’s narratives, these letters provide a rare glimpse into the personal lives of ordinary 18th-century French women. They recount stories of wives longing for their husbands who were away at war, discussions about household finances, the birth of children, and even expressions of resentment towards sailors who had been out of touch.
The letters, folded into envelopes and sealed with red wax stamps, came to Morieux’s attention when he requested to explore the contents of a box out of sheer curiosity while conducting research at the National Archives. Inside, he found three bundles of letters, only three of which had been opened, presumably by a low-ranking clerk who had deemed them unworthy of further inspection. Consequently, they were stored away and forgotten.
Entranced by these hidden missives, Morieux devoted five months to meticulously studying their faded writings. Despite their often-littered spelling errors, the letters provided a vivid account of the emotional texture of marriages and personal lives in 18th-century France. The correspondence reveals that women of the time were not shy about expressing their passionate desires to their partners. Moreover, as many of the letter writers were illiterate, they dictated their thoughts to a scribe.
One such letter, penned by Anne Le Cerf to her husband, a noncommissioned officer aboard the Galatée, expressed her anticipation of possessing him, using language that could be interpreted either as embracing or making love. Signing the letter as your obedient wife, Nanette, Le Cerf’s words were never received by her spouse, who was imprisoned in England at the time.
In another poignant letter, Marguerite Lemoyne, the mother of a sailor named Nicolas Quesnel, expressed her constant thoughts about him while acknowledging his lack of reciprocation. She also conveyed her news through Varin, an acquaintance’s wife, who was the only one providing her updates. Quesnel’s fiancée, Marianne, later implored him to write more frequently to his mother.
These letters, written during the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763), offer insights into the personal lives of people living through a global conflict. Following the capture of the Galatée, British authorities imprisoned over 64,000 French sailors, while the French postal service attempted to deliver the letters to various ports in France, constantly missing the ship. Eventually, they were sent to London upon learning of the vessel’s capture.
Renaud Morieux’s emotional discovery of these heartfelt messages has brought 18th-century France to life in a deeply personal and compelling way. The letters evoke both the sadness and intimacy of lives disrupted by war, unfulfilled desires, and the tragic reality of death. They provide historians with a valuable window into the emotional nuances of ordinary people and challenge popular notions of that time period.
Rebecca Earle, a history professor at the University of Warwick, emphasizes the significance of these letters in capturing the emotional texture of the past, particularly in the lives of women. These missives add to the growing evidence that 18th-century women were not as reserved as commonly believed when it came to expressing their desires and aspirations.
This extraordinary collection of unopened love letters serves as a testament to the enduring power of love, the resilience of the human spirit, and the ability for history to transcend time. As these intimate stories are finally brought to light after centuries of silence, they offer a profound glimpse into the lives and emotions of individuals who lived and loved in a bygone era.
(Note: This article is based on a news story originally published in The New York Times.)
