[Charles Brun] was so charming that I always write to him as "My dear Charlotte!" - Renée Vivien

Goddess who delights in the ruin of the rose,
Prolong the night!

I'm not logical. I'm infected with the romantic fever. It began in my teens when I read Baudelaire in secret, in a country boarding school in England from which I slipped away by climbing over the wall. I was fifteen, the same age as Juliet--a Juliet for whom Romeo had no attraction.

Just once in my life a man tried to embrace me. It was horrible! He had big boots, a heavy belt, huge gloves. Faugh! Oh, let's not talk about men.