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2026
AUGUST
27.08 THEODORE ROOSEVELT TO OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES JR. and THEODORE ROOSEVELT JR. — President Roosevelt writes to Judge Holmes and his son Ted regarding The Alaska Boundary Dispute and the role he played in the dispute's outcome.
12.08 MICHELANGELO TO HIS FATHER LODOVICO — Michelangelo writes to his father, hurt and annoyed by an accusation Lodovico made against him.
05.08 RICHARD WAGNER TO FRANZ LISZT — Wagner writes to his close friend Liszt, discussing Arthur Schopenhauer whose philosophy helped Wagner cope with his depression and inspired his Tristan und Isolde.
JULY
28.07 HARRIET BEECHER STOWE TO LADY BYRON — Years before her controversial article in The Atlantic Monthly, Stowe writes to Lady Byron, assuring her that her secret would be safe for as long as she (Lady Byron) lived.
23.07 JAMES A. GARFIELD TO HIS FRIEND CORYDON FULLER — Garfield writes to his close friend about the 1876 U.S. presidential election, which proved to be one of the most controversial elections in U.S. history.
06.07 FELIX MENDELSSOHN TO HIS MOTHER LEA and FANNY HENSEL TO HER BROTHER FELIX — Correspondence regarding the publication of Fanny's music under her own name, which her brother Felix disapproved of.
JUNE
15.06 JOHN EVERETT MILLAIS TO HIS WIFE EFFIE GRAY — Millais writes to his wife, complaining about the lack of interest in his work displayed at the 1859 Royal Academy Exhibition.
09.06 PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY TO HIS BROTHER MODEST and others — Tchaikovsky discusses his literary preferences, favouring authors such as Leo Tolstoy and Charles Dickens.
MAY
30.05 CHARLES DICKENS TO WILKIE COLLINS — Dickens writes to his fellow writer and friend Collins regarding Collins' novel The Woman in White, offering both praise and criticism.
24.05 ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON TO WILL H. LOW — Stevenson writes to his friend Low regarding the "damn queer" portrait John Singer Sargent had painted of him and his wife.
17.05 LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN TO HIS NEPHEW KARL and others — Correspondence from Beethoven, showing his strict and overbearing manner in raising Karl.
03.05 MAY ALCOTT NIERIKER TO LOUISA MAY ALCOTT & FAMILY and LOUISA MAY ALCOTT TO HER AUNT, MRS BOND — May Alcott writes home regarding her new-found happiness in Europe, and Louisa writes to her aunt following her sister May's untimely death.
APRIL
25.04 HENRY JAMES TO ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON — James writes to Stevenson, pleading with him to come back after his departure for the South Seas.
16.04 GIACOMO PUCCINI TO ROSINA STORCHIO — Following the disastrous 1904 Milan premiere of Madama Butterfly, Puccini writes to Storchio, his first Butterfly.
09.04 ANTON CHEKHOV TO HIS FAMILY and A.N. PLESHCHEYEV — Correspondence from Chekhov to his mother & siblings and to poet and friend Pleshcheyev regarding his arduous journey across Siberia to Sakhalin Island.
02.04 PAUL GAUGUIN TO GEORGE-DANIEL DE MONFREID — Gauguin writes to his friend and fellow painter De Monfreid, praising the character of Edgar Degas.
MARCH
26.03 GEORGE ELIOT TO FREDERIC LEIGHTON and FREDERIC LEIGHTON TO HIS FATHER — Correspondence regarding the collaboration between Eliot and Leighton on Eliot's novel Romola.
21.03 JANE AUSTEN TO JAMES STANIER CLARKE — Austen writes to Clarke, librarian to the Prince Regent, cordially declining his unsolicited advice.
13.03 IVAN TURGENEV TO LEO TOLSTOY and to their mutual friend AFANASY FET — Correspondence relating to the near-duel between Turgenev and Tolstoy.
08.03 FELIX MENDELSSOHN TO HIS BROTHER PAUL — Mendelssohn writes to his brother, reflecting on the demands of his busy career after Paul had complained to him about his own quiet and settled life.
04.03 MARK TWAIN TO WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS — Twain writes to his fellow writer and friend Howells, expressing strong disdain for George Eliot's work, while praising Howells' latest novel.
FEBRUARY
26.02 CHARLES DICKENS TO JAMES T. FIELDS — Dickens writes to his American publisher and friend, addressing the Stowe-Byron controversy.
21.02 MICHELANGELO TO HIS BROTHER BUONARROTO and HIS ASSISTANT PIETRO — Michelangelo writes about the problems he is experiencing while quarrying marble for his project.
15.02 HENRY JAMES TO ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON — James praises Stevenson for his writing, his letter marking the start of their literary friendship.
04.02 LUCY MAUD MONTGOMERY TO EPHRAIM WEBER — Montgomery writes to Weber, a longtime correspondent, about her first novel Anne of Green Gables.
JANUARY
28.01 LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN TO HIS BROTHERS CARL AND JOHANN — Beethoven writes to his brothers, expressing despair over his increasing deafness and even mentioning thoughts of suicide.
19.01 CHARLES DICKENS TO GEORGE ELIOT — Dickens writes to Eliot to praise Scenes of Clerical Life, suspecting all the while that Eliot is a woman.
15.01 DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI TO HIS AUNT CHARLOTTE — Rossetti writes to his aunt about his controversial poem Jenny.
11.01 LOUISA MAY ALCOTT TO THOMAS NILES — Alcott writes to her publisher, saying that she appreciates her blessings, despite her ill health.
08.01 WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART TO HIS FATHER LEOPOLD — Mozart writes to his father about leaving his job, following years of being bullied and humiliated by his employer Archbishop Hieronymus Colloredo.
01.01 PAUL GAUGUIN TO GEORGE-DANIEL DE MONFREID — Gauguin writes to his friend about the painting Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? and the difficult circumstances under which it was made.
2025
DECEMBER
28.12 ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK TO PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY and TCHAIKOVSKY's reply — Dvořák praises the Russian composer after attending a performance of his opera Eugene Onegin.
22.12 HARRIET BEECHER STOWE TO OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES and GEORGE ELIOT TO HARRIET BEECHER STOWE — Correspondence regarding Stowe's controversial article in The Atlantic Monthly, claiming Lord Byron had an incestuous relationship with his half-sister.
19.12 RAINER MARIA RILKE TO ARTHUR HOLITSCHER — Working as Auguste Rodin's personal assistant, Rilke writes to Hungarian writer Holitscher about the lessons the French sculptor is teaching him.
09.12 LEWIS CARROLL TO ISABEL STANDEN — Carroll writes to a young friend and gives her advice on how to cope with change.
06.12 CHARLOTTE BRONTË TO WILLIAM SMITH WILLIAMS — Brontë writes to her publisher's reader about how she is dealing with the deaths of her sisters Emily and Anne and her brother Branwell —losses that occurred within an eight-month period.
NOVEMBER
30.11 ANTON CHEKHOV TO HIS BROTHER NIKOLAI — Chekhov writes a letter of advice, with his eight qualities of "cultured people".
26.11 FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN TO HIS FRIEND JAN MATUSZYŃSKI — During the November Uprising in Warsaw, Chopin writes to his close friend Jan about feeling lonely in Vienna.
16.11 LOUISA MAY ALCOTT TO HER SISTER ANNA — Alcott keeps her sister Anna updated about her life in Boston, ten years before the publication of Little Women.
10.11 PAUL GAUGUIN TO THE FRENCH MINISTRY OF FINE ARTS — Gauguin seeks government support for his artistic mission to Tahiti.
06.11 CASSANDRA AUSTEN TO FANNY KNIGHT — Jane Austen's sister Cassandra writes to Fanny, Jane's favourite niece, about the final days and hours of her beloved aunt.
02.11 RICHARD WAGNER TO FRANZ LISZT — A desperate Wagner writes to his close friend Liszt, pleading for his help during a professional and financial crisis.
OCTOBER
30.10 HARRIET BEECHER STOWE TO GEORGE ELIOT — Stowe writes to Eliot about Eliot's novel Middlemarch, its lack of "jollitude", and invites her to come to America.
26.10 CHARLES DICKENS TO ELIZABETH GASKELL — Dickens asks Gaskell to write for his journal Household Words.
19.10 FREDERIC LEIGHTON TO HIS MOTHER — Leighton complains about his paintings being poorly displayed at the Royal Academy Exhibition of 1861.
15.10 JANE AUSTEN TO HER SISTER CASSANDRA — Austen writes to her sister about the publication of her novel Pride and Prejudice.
12.10 JOHN SINGER SARGENT TO CLAUDE MONET — Sargent worries about not exhibiting at the Paris Salon and the opinion of his peers.
10.10 PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY TO HIS SISTER ALEKSANDRA — Tchaikovsky writes about quitting his civil service job to follow his passion for music.
04.10 CHARLOTTE BRONTË TO GEORGE HENRY LEWES — Brontë writes to literary critic Lewes, giving her criticism of Jane Austen.
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Image: Letter to Cassandra Austen by Jane Austen; Bath, 12 May 1801
Source: Wikimedia Commons
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