FACTArchive →
The Bonfire of Letters
FACT
@fact5
Creepy DiscoveriesMay 19, 2026

The Bonfire of Letters

The Bonfire of Letters In 1860, Charles Dickens lit a bonfire at Gad's Hill. He fed it twenty years of personal letters. Friends, family, secrets — all to ash. He asked correspondents to burn his replies too. Scholars still mourn what vanished that afternoon in Kent.

Spot an error? Email hello@thefact5.com with a source — we correct visibly.
KEEP SCROLLING

More strange facts ✦