The Howe-Wolcott Correspondence within the context of 19th-Century American Courtship

"Love Letters, billet-doux, are among the sweetest things which the whole career of love allows. By betters a love can say a thousand extravagant things which he would blush to utter in the presence of his fair charmer." -Dictionary of Love

The love letters exchanged between George Howe and Lorette Wolcott provide valuable accounts of Victorian American courtship. The intimate letters written in the Victorian age served to fill an emotional void during the time that the lovers were kept apart. A couple was able to create a secret world through the writing of these love letters, a world that was fueled by mystery, and conducted in seclusion. It was not uncommon for both men and women to be found kissing their letters, carrying them to bed, and even talking to them. In their letters men and women would include descriptions of their surroundings and details, simply to give their lovers a detailed account of their everyday lives, thus bringing the lovers closer together. George and Lorette's correspondence is an example of two such lovers, forced apart from each other by the circumstances of their day, who were able to maintain their relationship through their letter writing; a relationship that would culminate in marriage!