Famous Love Letters To Inspire You

Whether you want to write your own love letters or you just want to get into a loving frame of mind, reading romantic letters written by other people can be truly inspirational.

Below are five examples of letters written by well-known personalities from history.

Some of them were professional authors so you might expect them to be able to write a great love letter!

But before the invention of phones, text messaging and the internet, many non-literary people in the past were able to write love letters.

We've chosen these particular examples because they're pretty short, they're a mix of different styles and they're easy to read and understand.

Also, all of them are very moving and it's obvious that they're written from the heart of their authors.

And, very importantly, they can be used as templates for writing your own romantic letters.

If, once you've read our selection of love letters, you want to read some more, there are some great books out there which have literally hundreds of romantic letters in them.

These include Love Letters of Great Men by Ursula Doyle, 'Other People's Love Letters: 150 Letters You Were Never Meant to See by Bill Shapiro and Love Letters of Great Men and Women From The Eighteenth Century To The Present Day by C.H.Charles.

Love Letter From Mark Twain (author) to his wife, Livy on her thirtieth birthday, 27 November 1875

Livy darling,

Six years have gone by since I made my first great success in life and won you, and thirty years have passed since Providence made preparation for that happy success by sending you into the world. Every day we live together adds to the security of my confidence, that we can never any more wish to be separated than that we can ever imagine a regret that we were ever joined. You are dearer to me today, my child, than you were upon the last anniversary of this birthday; you were dearer then than you were a year before – you have grown more dear from the first of those anniversaries, and I do not doubt that this precious progression will continue on to the end.

Let us look forward to the coming anniversaries, with their age and gray hairs without fear and without depression, trusting and believing that the love we bear each other will be sufficient to make them blessed.

So, with abounding affection for you and our babies, I hail this day that brings you the matronly grace and dignity of three decades.

Always Yours

Juliette Drouet (actress) to Victor Hugo (French writer), 1835

If only I were a clever woman, I could describe to you my gorgeous bird, how you unite in yourself the beauties of form, plumage, and song!

I would tell you that you are the greatest marvel of all ages, and I should only be speaking the simple truth. But to put all this into suitable words, my superb one, I should require a voice far more harmonious than that which is bestowed upon my species - for I am the humble owl that you mocked at only lately, therefore, it cannot be.

I will not tell you to what degree you are dazzling and to the birds of sweet song who, as you know, are none the less beautiful and appreciative.

I am content to delegate to them the duty of watching, listening and admiring, while to myself I reserve the right of loving; this may be less attractive to the ear, but it is sweeter far to the heart.

I love you, I love you, my Victor; I cannot reiterate it too often; I can never express it as much as I feel it.

I recognise you in all the beauty that surrounds me in form, in colour, in perfume, in harmonious sound: all of these mean you to me. You are superior to all I see and admire - you are all!

You are not only the solar spectrum with the seven luminous colours, but the sun himself that illumines, warms, and revivifies! This is what you are, and I am the lowly woman that adores you.

Juliette

Love Letter From Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (composer) to his wife Constanze, 16 April 1789

Dear little wife, I have a number of requests to make. I beg you

(1) not to be melancholy,
(2) to take care of your health and to be aware of the spring breezes,
(3) not to go out walking alone – and preferably not to go out walking at all,
(4) to feel absolutely assured of my love. Up to the present I have not written a single letter to you without placing your dear portrait before me.
(5) I beg in your conduct not only to be careful of your honour and mine, but also to consider appearances. Do not be angry with me for asking this. You ought to love me even more for thus valuing our honour.
(6) And lastly I beg you to send me more details in your letters….

A.A. Mozart

Richard Steele (politician) to his fiancée Mary Scurlock, August 1707

Madam,It is the hardest thing in the world for me to be in love and yet attend to business. As for me all who speak to me find me out, and I must lock myself up or other people will do it for me.A gentleman asked me this morning, 'What news from Lisbon?' and I answered, 'She is exquisitely handsome.' Another desired to know when I had last been at Hampton Court. I replied, 'It will be on Tuesday come se'nniht.'

Pr'ythee, allow me at least to kiss your hand before that day, that my mind may be in some composure. O love!

'A thousand torments dwell about me!Yet who would live to live without thee?'

Methinks I could write a volume to you: but all the language on earth would fail in saying how much and with what disinterested passion I am ever yours-

Rich. Steele

King Henry VIII To Anne Boleyn, 16th Century

My Mistress and my Friend:My heart and I surrender themselves into your hands, and we supplicate to be commended to your good graces, and that by our absence your affections may not be diminished to us, for that would be to augment our pain, which would be a great pity, since absence gives enough, and more than I ever thought could be felt. This brings to my mind a fact in astronomy, which is, that the further the poles are from the sun, notwithstanding, the more scorching is the heat. Thus it is with our love: absence has placed distance between us, nevertheless fervour increases – at least on my part. I hope the same from you, assuring you that in my case the anguish of absence is so great that it would be intolerable were it not for the firm hope I have of your indissoluble affection towards me. In order to remind you of it, and because I cannot in person be in your presence, I send you the thing which comes nearest that is possible, that is to say, my picture, and the whole device, which you already know of, set in bracelets, wishing myself in their place when it pleases you.

This is from the hand of Your servant and friend,

H.R.

Hopefully you've enjoyed this selection of famous love letters and you've been inspired in many ways!

Return from Letters of Love to Love Advice