For sale: Literary great's love notes

9:00am Thursday 3rd July 2008

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LOVE letters from Lyme Regis literary great John Fowles to a university undergraduate will go under the hammer at Sotheby's later this month.

The letters were written by The French Lieutenant's Woman author to 21-year-old Elena von Lieshout while he was in his late 60s and living in the resort.

The collection of 120 letters, expected to fetch up to £30,000, includes messages written on old postcards of Lyme Regis, where Fowles lived at Belmont House in Pound Street.

He remained there for 37 years until his death in 2005, living there in later life with his second wife Sarah.

The auction catalogue says Fowles immediately fell in love with the student and was initially determined to marry her.

It says: The two enjoyed a passionate, but occasionally tempestuous, friendship until it fizzled out towards the end of 1992, although they were in contact until 1998.' Sotheby's English literature specialist, Peter Selley, said: "The relationship between the two was more of an intimate companionship that was romantic at the heart of it.

"His letters include mentions of the gardens at Belmont House, which I think were a great help and comfort to him at times when he seemed rather down."

The letters show Elena was first invited to Belmont House by Fowles, aged 64, in 1990.

It was months after his wife Elizabeth had died of cancer and a relationship grew between the two, to the point he felt Lyme Regis was a place so stale, so empty' without her.

In one of the letters, Fowles, who had suffered a stroke, expressed to Elena his displeasure at being unable to consummate their physical relationship after they had shared a bed.

The letters show the couple faced disapproval from their peers. Mr Selley said: "There are references to some of his friends being quite disapproving of the relationship. There were also references to some of his friends being interested in Elena too."

One of the letters says: She has brought a happiness into being I thought had gone forever when my wife died last March.

'Everyone in Lyme - and no doubt elsewhere - always jumps to the most disgraceful conclusions when you say things like that, but we know what has happened is strangely different.' Mr Selley added that the collection includes a number of old postcards of Lyme Regis.

The auction will take place at Sotheby's in London on July 17.