TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

French poet's suicide letter goes under hammer

News Desk (Agence France-Presse)
Paris, France
Mon, November 5, 2018

Share This Article

Change Size

French poet's suicide letter goes under hammer A sign indicates the place where French poet Charles Baudelaire lived as part the exhibition 'Baudelaire' (AFP/Emmanuel Dunand)

A

letter written by nineteenth century French poet Charles Baudelaire announcing his intention to kill himself sold at auction on Sunday for 234,000 euros ($267,000), three times the expected price.

Read also: It's a little bit pricey: Elton John's 'Your Song' lyrics for auction

Best known for his collection of poems "Les Fleurs du mal" (The Flowers of Evil"), Baudelaire was 24 at the time he wrote the letter to his mistress Jeanne Duval in June 1845.

This photograph taken on Oct. 25, shows autographed notes of Charles Baudelaire and his lawyer, on a clipping of the newspaper Le Figaro, criticizing 'The flowers of evil', part of a collection of autographs and manuscripts of Baudelaire, including his suicide letter ahead of their auction in Paris.
This photograph taken on Oct. 25, shows autographed notes of Charles Baudelaire and his lawyer, on a clipping of the newspaper Le Figaro, criticizing 'The flowers of evil', part of a collection of autographs and manuscripts of Baudelaire, including his suicide letter ahead of their auction in Paris. (AFP/Jacques Demarthon)

It was bought by a private collector, the Osenat auction house said.

"When you receive this letter I will be dead…. I am killing myself because I cannot carry on living, I can no longer endure the ordeal of falling asleep or waking up again," the poet wrote.

Baudelaire stabbed himself but failed to do any serious damage and lived for another 22 years.

He died aged 46 in 1867.

{

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.