--- description: The letter was written only months before the authors fell out, and was found above a collector's fireplace title: Letter From Camus to Sartre Unearthed image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7e6967e592be3d45/69876b2a0b72e37b906dc2ed/ap090227017515.jpg?branch=production&width=1080&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Books](/tag/books/) ## Books Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Previously Unknown Letter from Camus to Sartre Discovered by [Per Liljas](/author/per-liljas/) ## Per Liljas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 26, 2014 4:10 AM CUT  Albert Camus Albert CamusLIDO/SIPA—AP by [Per Liljas](/author/per-liljas/) ## Per Liljas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 26, 2014 4:10 AM CUT A previously unknown letter from Albert Camus to Jean-Paul Sartre has been [unearthed](http://usa.news.net/article/2343772/unknown-letter-from-camus-to-sartre-found-above-fireplace "undefined") after hanging above an autograph collector’s fireplace for decades. The long missive is believed to have been written in March or April of 1951, shortly before the two famous French author-philosophers fell out, Agence France-Presse reports. Writing from his apartment in Paris, Camus among other things recommends Spanish actress Aminda Valls for one of Sartre’s plays, calling her a “marvel of humanity.” An autograph collector acquired the letter in the 1970s and kept it framed in his home until recently, when it was passed to a bookseller and subsequently sold to a French collector. Camus published _The Rebel_ about six months after writing the letter, and Sartre went on to criticize the book. This led to the demise of their amicable relationship, and Sartre destroying almost all of their correspondence. \[[_AFP_](http://usa.news.net/article/2343772/unknown-letter-from-camus-to-sartre-found-above-fireplace "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3606860/previously-unknown-letter-from-camus-to-sartre-discovered/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3606860/previously-unknown-letter-from-camus-to-sartre-discovered/"},"headline":"Previously Unknown Letter from Camus to Sartre Discovered","datePublished":"2014-11-26T04:10:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T02:24:00.609Z","description":"The missive was written only months before the friends fell out, and was found above a collector's fireplace","url":"https://time.com/3606860/previously-unknown-letter-from-camus-to-sartre-discovered/","keywords":["Books","France"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7e6967e592be3d45/69876b2a0b72e37b906dc2ed/ap090227017515.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Per Liljas","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/per-liljas/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7e6967e592be3d45/69876b2a0b72e37b906dc2ed/ap090227017515.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"ALBERT CAMUS","caption":"Albert Camus","creditText":"LIDO/SIPA—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3606860/previously-unknown-letter-from-camus-to-sartre-discovered/","name":"Previously Unknown Letter from Camus to Sartre Discovered"}}]}] ```