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The Lives and Legends of Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold 
Hi Erik! Happy Saturday! Just to let you know that I am working on the New Zealand press things we discussed. I promise I will get it to you soon. Had an hellacious week at work so I didn’t have as much free time as I had hoped.
I went down another rabbit hole this week, though. Have you come across Karen M. Masterson’s book on the US Malaria Project? I’m almost certain you have but I didn’t want you to miss it if you hadn’t seen it*. It contains a chapter about Stateville and references Leopold quite a bit. There are one or two inaccuracies, I think, but her comments on what Alving and his son thought about Leopold are very interesting.
*Possibly the poorest sentence in the history of the English language!
Best wishes,
Sophie
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Hey Sophie, no worries at all, get to it when the spirit moves you, and only if you want to! Oh I’m sorry to hear you had a bad week at work, I hope you have a relaxing weekend to recover.
I have read that book, it led me down my own rabbit hole, haha. I wish we had more from salving himself though, rather than Alvings son telling Karen things he remembered his father saying. No concrete evidence there, a real pity.
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Thank you, Erik. Hope you have s fabulous weekend too. Something else I thought I could do was a comparison of the Leopold-Loeb case with the JonBenet case because there are some interesting parallels. Would that be of any interest to you?
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Oh yes I’d love to read that, since it’s not something I’ve looked into much myself!
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Hi again, Erik. I hope I’m not getting on your nerves. I wondered whether you had come across the Parker-Hulme murder in New Zealand. I just ask because Leopold and Loeb were referenced in the girls’ trial and there are some intriguing parallels. For example, the girls thought they were superior beings, were probably sexually involved and their case was regarded as New Zealand’s “Crime of the Century.” If you haven’t seen it, this book will interest you and it does quote some of the Leopold and Loeb references from the trial:
Anyway, happy Sunday!
Best regards, Sophie.
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Hey Sophie,
Great to hear from you! I have come across the Parker-Hulme case, and there are some interesting connections. I’ve read the article from their lawyer comparing the cases, the Leopold-Loeb case is also referenced in the intro of the fictional book about them, The Evil Friendship. And the recent novel These Violent Delights is a mash up of Parker-Hulme and Leopold-Loeb, the main characters are named Julian and Paul after Juliet and Pauline. I do need to dig deeper to see if the newspaper coverage of the girls’ trial made many connections to Leopold and Loeb, that could be an interesting blog post someday.
Happy Sunday!
Erik
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I know you have lots of projects so, if it would be helpful, I’ll gladly research the New Zealand newspapers and send you my findings. I gather that the press at the time was fairly squeamish about its coverage of the case in the same way the English press was reserved about commenting on the Mary Bell/ Norma Bell case in 1968 (incidentally another case where one party was characterized as the “evil svengali” in some quarters).
Anyway, thank you for all you do.
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That would be amazing, I’d love that! And that does make sense, it seems like humans always want to try and determine who’s the leader and who’s the follower to those kinds of partnerships.
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Dear Erik,
I wanted to thank you for your remarkable book. It is beautifully written and, to my mind, gets very close to the heart of the case.
I came to Leopold and Loeb via an extremely circuitous route. Many years ago, I was interested in the JonBenet Ramsey murder and, like everyone else, had a theory. An online acquaintance was convinced the crime had been perpetrated by some Leopold and Loeb imitators at the University of Colorado at Boulder. I essentially just looked at the L&L Wiki and decided that the theory was too “out there.” With a bit of knowledge of the Leopold and Loeb case, I can see some intriguing similarities between the two murders so I finally understand where my old friend was coming from.
I recently read a biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder where she was quoted as saying that Darrow’s arguments against the death penalty were “bunkum” and this reminded me of Leopld and Loeb. Finally, I picked up a book about Clarence Darrow in a charity shop, read it, and finally concluded that I was destined to go down a Leopold and Loeb rabbit hole. You wouldn’t believe some of the obscure reading I’ve done since discovering your book. I even looked at Hansard, the UK’s record of all Parliamentary debates to see the discussion of Leopold’s rehabilitation as argument for my country’s abolition of the death penalty.
Anyway, many thanks for your book and your wonderful website.
With best regards,
Sophie.
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Sophie, thanks so much for your kind words and the story about how you jumped down this rabbit hole.
I’ve heard a little bit about the JonBenet connection theory, but haven’t looked into it too closely. I’m definitely going to have to find that Wilder biography for the quote about Darrow! And I love that you looked into the Parliamentary debates, Leopold helping to change English laws was something I also found fascinating.
I really appreciate you taking the time to reach out, and I’m glad you enjoyed the book and website.
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Erik, the Laura Ingalls Wilder thing is quite brief. I may be able to take a screenshot for you.
One thing about the rabbit hole is that I see Leopold in every book I’ve read 😀. Hannibal Lecter. Yes. The kids in Donna Tartt’s Secret History. Yes.
I do want to emphasise, though, that your book is the absolute pinnacle of literature on this case.
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That would be great!
Haha I totally get that, and honestly a lot of the time there does turn out to be some connection! I do wish Donna Tartt would say something publicly about A Secret History, because there are quite a few similarities and I want some peace of mind
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I can’t send you the screenshot unfortunately but the quotes are about Rose Lane, Laura’s Libertarian daughter, saying that L&L should be quietly chloroformed to death and Laura saying that the anti-death penalty argument was “bunk.” It’s in “Prairie Fires: The American Dream of Laura Inga’s Wilder.”
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No worries I’ll find it, that’s intense!
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Another book you may be interested in is Dorothy L.Sayers’ “Whose Body?” The antagonist is a genius who believes in glands causing crime and in conscience being a ridiculous vestige like the appendix. I actually thought she was inspired by the Leopold and Loeb case but she wrote the book in 1923.
I do have to add that she is, in many ways, of a British imperial age and offensive in lots of ways.
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I will have to check that out, it’s good to get more context to what the ideas around those topics were at the time apart from the case. I’ve read a couple of Sayers’ books before but not that one. She does reference Leopold and Loeb once or twice, so she did hear about then, but I don’t know if she ever dedicated a full book to the case.
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Hi! First I just wanted to say that I love your website. I’m 14 and I tend to get super obsessed with random specific things like this case lol, and discovering your site was like releasing me in a candy shop with all the information you’ve compiled. I’ve gone down a total rabbit hole 😅
I’ve got a couple of questions, if you don’t mind—
Re: the ABCD crimes. Do you think they even existed, and if so what do you think they were? From what I’ve learned I’m leaning towards either a) they didn’t exist and Loeb was just lying or b) they did exist but weren’t the crimes that were theorized at the time and probably less severe as well.
Also, how do you think their lives would’ve gone if they hadn’t met each other or at least didn’t develop the intense relationship they did? When crimes are committed by a duo this is always at the forefront of my mind tbh, sometimes it takes two to tango. Would either of them have murdered without the influence of the other? Personally I don’t think either of them would’ve been upstanding members of society, but I feel like they sort of fed off of each other and probably wouldn’t have killed anyone individually.
Thanks again for all of your research into this case!
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Hi there! Haha, happy I could help further your obsession.
I have a similar view to you on ABCD. I do think that Loeb was telling the truth, that there were crimes he committed that he wasn’t telling them about, but I doubt they were the ones speculated about by the press/police. My pet theory is that they might be things that would either cause more legal trouble (so something more severe than burning empty buildings, petty theft, etc) or something that he didn’t want to talk about because he did it against people he cared about, like friends or family. But that’s total speculation on my part.
If they hadn’t met/developed a close relationship I assume they would have lived fairly normal lives on the outside. I doubt Leopold would have done any crime for crime’s sake like he did with Loeb, but wouldn’t have cared about the law and would have ignored it when it benefited him. I can only see him killing someone on his own if it was really advantageous to him: either the person wronged him and he wanted revenge or they blackmailed him or otherwise were making his life miserable.
I know less about Loeb so it’s harder to say. Murder on his own probably not, but if he hit someone with his car or had some other kind of accident that resulted in someone that he didn’t care about dying, I can’t see him being too eaten up by it. I assume he’d continue committing petty crimes for a while on his own, but that would taper off eventually.
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Thanks for the answers!
Yeah the links between them and the theorized ABCD crimes seem to be coincidental/circumstantial at best. I do also hold the possible view that they didn’t exist because it’s not like Loeb is exactly a reliable source 💀. If they did then they were probably worse than just petty crimes but I also think that they weren’t necessarily other murders which is what the police/press seemed to assume, although I wouldn’t rule it out entirely. Something against someone he cared about is also definitely a possibility, iirc his younger brother was one of their potential victims? So I definitely wouldn’t put it past them.
I feel like my second question is a lot easier to answer with Leopold lol since unlike Loeb we do have an idea of how he acted in adulthood without the other’s influence. And I mean Leopold definitely did some awful things after he got paroled, but he didn’t kill anyone else (at least as far as we know lmao) so that kind of answers the question for him. But Loeb is still just kind of an enigma.
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Exactly! He totally could have been lying to distract the psychiatrists, seem more intimidating/dangerous than he was, or just having fun trolling, never can tell with him.
Exactly, one of my theories is, there was a garage/apartment on the Loeb Farm that burned down in the night when Loeb was a teenager. Obviously it could have been an accident, but I can also see that as something he would consider a big crime that he wouldn’t want to bring up unless he had to, lol.
Exactly, Leopold’s always easier because we have so much information on him and we can se how he acted and talked for 66 years. Loeb, as you say, is an enigma. And even with Leopold, at least he was mostly honest and open in 1924, Loeb we don’t even know that for sure!
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Hi there! I just have a quick comment/question – I read that Loeb once hit a woman with his car as a young teen driving recklessly in his Michigan estate and was filled with remorse so much so that he begged his father to help her financially and sent her flowers, candies and such. Do you think he had it in him to be a good person, but the meeting of each other triggered something within them to carry out the acts they did?
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Hi! So that car incident I’d like to clarify a little.
The story you quote comes from the book ‘The Amazing Crime and Trial of Leopold and Loeb’ by Maureen McKernan. She doesn’t give a source for it, but it’s during a section where she describes going to Charlevoix and interviewing the townspeople. She said they all loved Loeb, and they told the story of the car accident and his generosity as an example of that. Quoting the passage:
“A woman was hurt and her grandson was slightly injured. ‘Dick’ helped take her to the hospital, but, once there, when he realized that she was injured, he wept and fainted. He had to be almost carried home. Every day he visited the woman, taking her flowers and fruit, the best of food. He persuaded his father, not only to pay all the hospital bills, but to pay off a mortgage on the woman’s home, and to send her on a trip that winter to mend her shattered nerves. She was another woman who cried when she heard that nice ‘Dickie’ Loeb was quartered in jail.”
Now for the facts of the case, taken from the transcripts of the court case that eventuated from it:
In 1920 Loeb and 4 friends were driving in Charlevoix at night without their headlights on. They hit a horse and buggy with 3 passengers in it. Most of them were taken to the hospital. But in contrast to the story McKernan writes:
-The woman with the grandson assumedly didn’t cry when she heard that ‘nice Dickie’ was in jail: she was in the middle of a suit against him about that accident.
-Loeb in his deposition for that case said that he didn’t take her or anyone to the hospital-he was taken there himself in a daze.
-No one described Loeb as going to visit the victims, though Anna and Albert both did.
So I have some doubts about the truthfulness of that story.
That aside, I think everyone has it in them to do good and bad things. Leopold and Loeb certainly were able to do horrible crimes and positive, constructive things together.
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Wow, that changes a lot of what I thought of that story! thank you!
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My pleasure!
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Hi, I recently discovered an intriguing website, http://chsmedia.org/media/fa/fa/M-L/LeopoldN-inv.htm, which lists a collection of historical documents pertaining to the Leopold and Loeb case housed within the Chicago Museum. Unfortunately, it seems these valuable materials are not available for online viewing. If it’s not too much trouble, would you be interested in reaching out to the museum authorities to inquire about these documents and share them if possible? Considering my location outside the United States, your assistance could provide a unique and much-valued opportunity for me to access these artifacts. Thank you very much for considering my request.
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Hi! Yes, those are Nathan Leopold’s personal papers which he donated to the museum in 1970. Unfortunately that material can’t be made available online for legal reasons, but the museum can provide you with a list of freelance researchers who can provide photos or scans of some of the material for research purposes if you’d like, though know that that does come with a fee. If there’s anything specific you’d like, I’d encourage you to reach out to the research center at this email: research@chicagohistory.org.
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Thanks🌹
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Hi, I have 2 questions for you:
1. I know that on the FAQ page you say that Loeb’s sexuality is very vague and a subject of academic debate, but as the expert 🙂 what would your thoughts be?
2. What kind of relationship continued between the 2 during Joliet and Statesville? Do you think it continued to be sexual/romantic?
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Haha I’m definitely not the expert, but thank you!
1. In my opinion Loeb was most likely to have been bi or gay, maaaybe straight. I don’t see a straight guy having a four year long sexual relationship with another guy, especially after they’d been caught and shamed for it. It’s possible that he was just having sex with Leopold for other reasons (he liked him as a friend and wanted to make him happy, wanted them to commit crimes together etc) but for the length of time they were together and that the ‘compact’ of sex for crime was only there for the last few months, I don’t think it holds up well.
I think he could be bi because he did seem to have strong, frequent attachments to girls pre prison. His alleged behavior in prison also seems to point to bi or gay.
2. I’d say a mix of friendship/romance but I’m guessing little to no sex. From the way Leopold talks about it and how they were described they seem to have become closer and mellower in the friendship department, being together regularly, discussing things, constantly being involved in the same activities etc. but they each seemed to have thier own lovers. They all seemed to hang out together, help each other out, Leopold even used a contact of Loebs to get one of his partners a civilian job after Loebs death.
And though it doesn’t amount to much, I think it’s interesting that I haven’t seen any rumors from prisoners about Leopold and loeb being together, but there were plenty about them being with other prisoners.
So to wrap it up a little: I think loeb wasn’t straight, and that they saw other people in prison. But I know so little about loeb and his life in prison that some new evidence could come out and totally disprove everything I believe 😂
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Are you inclined then to believe Father Weir’s statement that in the last few months before Loeb’s death on his growing distaste for Leopold? Thank you for your response 🙂
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I believe that Weir believed that. I really don’t know what to make of that situation though, it’s so incongruous with everything else I know about the relationship. It only comes from one source, but seemingly a reliable one. But could Loeb have been misinterpreted? Could it have been a joke? Less serious than Weir took it? Was it for a temporary fight or was it a long standing secret hatred? If Loeb hated Leopold why did they spend so much time together? I really wish we had more information because as it stands that statement doesn’t make sense to me and I want to understand it.
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Hi!Do you know what exactly Leopold and Loeb were argueing about in October,1923?I wonder what kind of quarrel would make Leopold thought of killing Loeb😬.And are there any letters from Loeb to Leopold have been found?
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Hey! The letter Leopold sent makes it sound like they were arguing about the New Years Eve plans they made, and Leopold told Rubel what he assumed Loeb thought, rather than telling Rubel that Loeb told him something? It’s pretty convoluted, lol. But it sounds like that was different than the incident which you’re asking about, when Loeb came over and Leopold says he thought about killing him if Loeb didn’t tell him why he acted the way he did the previous day. Zero idea what Loeb did to make Leopold so upset, though I assume the killing him part was more a figure of speech. Though with those two, who really knows.
And nope, the only thing is the birthday card Loeb gave Leopold in 1931. It would be incredible to find some of Loeb’s letters to Leopold, I’m sure it would show a whole new side of him!
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Thanks for your reply.It’s a shame that the letter which Loeb reply to Leopold’s break up letter wasn’t kept.Really curious about what does Leopold called”abominable spell”look like lol.
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Haha I wish that had been saved too! Or maybe it was saved but just not read into evidence like Leopolds were.
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If Loeb wouldn’t die, what do you think what life they would have? Would Leopold still go to Puerto Rico? Would Loeb join him? Or they wouldn’t be released at all?
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That’s a very interesting scenario to think about. If they had both lived and were both trying to get released I actually think Loeb would have had an easier time of it. He did better in prison, had no punishments on his record and made a better, more innocent impression. I think, barring something unusual happening, he likely would have gotten out first.
I assume Leopold would eventually have gotten out as well, but I’m guessing just based on the other actions of the parole board, they’d want them living away from each other. If they kept the preference for them being isolated maybe one would go to Hawaii and the other to Puerto Rico or Alaska, or another territory far enough away from people.
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I sorta put this case side by side with the Vernable/ Thompson out of the UK. At that time everyone thought that the one most responsible for the murder of the Bulger child was Thompson, well it turned out that Vernable has numerous connections with children since his release from prison, not so with Thompson. You never really know people!
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Exactly! Especially if the information you get is coming from the media, there’s just so much unknown.
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Hello,it’s me again！I’ve read Greg King and Penny Wilson’s non-fiction,Nothing But the Night.It said that by autumn of 1935,Loeb and Leopold’s relationship was eroding.Was it true? If it was,then what may be the reason?
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Hi! Yes, that information comes from Father Weir, who said that he noticed they seemed more distant and he at one point went up to Loeb and asked if he hated Leopold and Loeb said Weir knew too much and asked him not to tell Leopold. It does seem like Weir believed there was a problem, that Loeb didn’t like Leopold as much during the last few months of his life, but he didn’t know what caused it. It also doesn’t seem like Leopold ever knew how Loeb felt, if Loeb did feel that way, and no other accounts I’ve seen described them as having problems leading up to Loebs death.
It’s a big mystery to me. I don’t know what Loebs feelings actually were, just Weirs perception and remembrance of them. If Loeb was getting annoyed at Leopold my theory is it’s because starting in late 1935 Leopold lost all his other jobs and was just working in the school with Loeb full time, and maybe being around each other all the time was getting on Loebs nerves? Or maybe it’s something I have no idea about, some dynamic between then, some slight, some other person, Leopold teaching a subject Loeb wanted, I mean in the 20s they seemed to fight and make up over petty things pretty regularly so it could have been anything and that’s if there actually was bad feeling.
It’s a nut I haven’t cracked yet, unfortunately, but I’d really love to be able to find out what was actually going on there.
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Thanks for your reply!It seems that their relationship in prison isn’t always as close as Leopold thought.🤭
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That could be very true!
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Hi,
There’s a photo of Jacob Franks holding the arm of one of his sons on the street.
Here you have the photo included – in Jack Franks’ section. But in all other places I have seen this rare photo, it is described as being of Jacob and Bobby, not Jack. Since you’ve also clarified a lot of other misconceptions and mistakes, do you think this photo is actually of Jack and Jacob? (Unless I have seen the page incorrectly and that’s just an “extra photo” of Bobby.)
Thank you if you answer. And great website. I appreciate that you gather information of all involved, not just the killers; so often there’s no more information of Bobby or his family than just “Bobby Franks, the son of the wealthy Jacob Franks”.
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And also for a more minor question, is there a reason you have your website called “Loeb and Leopold” rather than the more common “Leopold and Loeb”? It is completely irrelevant, of course, I’m just curious.
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Haha it’s actually because someone else has a WordPress site named leopoldandloeb! I just got there too late.
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Thank you! Yes that is of Jack and Jacob, it was actually taken after Bobby was already dead outside of the funeral home where his inquest was held. One of these days I’ll make a post about all the photo misconceptions out there and that photo will definitely be included because I see it mislabeled a lot too! And it was important to me to include information about the victim, his family, as well as other people who were impacted by this case, it really is sad that Bobby is often just a footnote in the story of his own murder.
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Hi!Do you know how exactly Loeb called Leopold ?I read in Nathan’s autobiography that Loeb called him “Nate”,but in other non-fiction books he called him “babe”.So what’s the truth?
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That’s a really interesting question! So it seems like in the 20s Loeb (and most people) called Leopold ‘Babe’. Loeb uses that nickname in letters, transcripts, conversations with the reporters. I mean even Loebs family called Leopold Babe, that was just his nickname. And actually I don’t see people call him Nate until well into his time in prison.
So I’m not sure why Leopold wrote him calling him that into his autobiography. I don’t know if Loeb started calling Leopold that in prison, if Leopold or someone else thought the nickname was too friendly or suggestive of a relationship, or if Leopold genuinely didn’t remember what Loeb used to call him after so many years of his friends calling him Nate instead. It’s a mystery!
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And honestly now that I think about it more, it could just be because Leopold wrote the prison material way before the pre-prison parts of the book. So it could have just been that he wrote everyone calling him Nate throughout the book, because that was his nickname in prison, and when he added the earlier bits he kept the Nate nickname to keep things consistent.
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I see. Thanks a lot!
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My pleasure!
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Hi!I’d like to buy a novel based on this case and I wonder if you can give me some recommendations .What do you think of Nothing but the Night written by K.C.Krants?
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Hi, absolutely I’d be happy to! I guess it really depends on what you’re looking for. Krantz’s book is great if you want more of a love story, and Loeb is invested in the relationship, not just using Leopold, which I always appreciate.
If you’re strictly looking at fiction that’s closely based on the case there’s also Homo Superiors by LA Fields which is a modernization of the case focusing only on the time before they commit the murder, so if you’re someone who gets bored by all the trial stuff this one might be for you.
But if you’re willing to go for something farther from the case, I really love Nothing but the Night by James Yaffe, which also has a very sweet relationship (though it’s subtextual) between the Leopold and Loeb characters and involves their families a lot to show how each developed. For something completely opposite: I just reread The Grindle Nightmare, a ghoulish and gory pulp mystery inspired by the case (though pretty far from it) which is perfect for the Halloween season. Micah Nemerevers book These Violent Delights is another good one, very bleak but overtly romantic and well written.
Hopefully that helps? Haha please let me know if there’s specific things you’re looking for and I may be able to give a better recommendation.
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Thanks for your recommendation! I guess I will choose Kantz’s book cuz I find it hard to see a Loeb who is portrayed as being truely in love with Leopod,weather in musical or in movies based on the case.I would be curious to see one!
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Sorry I mean“whether”lol.
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Yeah it very rarely happens in fiction, I hope you enjoy!
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I would highly recommend Arrested Adolescence by Erik Rebain! 🙂
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Haha, Aw thank you, I’d recommend that one too 😄
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I bet you will😉
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I really appreciate that you included as much as you could find about the Franks and about Bobby in particular, since this case is so often overshadowed by Leopold and Loeb themselves and by the case. Reading that lengthy newspaper interview about Bobby with Jack and Jacob Franks made me cry. Cry over a kid and his grieving family 99 years ago. Knowing that he, Bobby, himself was opposed to the death penalty makes Leopold and Loeb escaping it kind of bittersweet.
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Thank you for your comment, it really is upsetting reading about what that family went through. I just wish there was more information available about him, more personal details, things from his perspective.
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Definitely. And not to dismiss what Loeb and Leopold’s respective families went through, but as much as I mostly respect the man it really pisses me off that Dallow said this in his speech:
“But as compared with the families of Leopold and Loeb, the Franks are to be envied – and everyone knows it.”
I don’t know if the Franks’ were in the court during the twelve hour long speech, but I hope they weren’t. As Jacob said:
“”There it is, you see I am sorry for these other people, the men who must realize now what sort of boys their sons are. I suppose their sorrow is greater than mine, but or—”
All the agony of loneliness, all the grif of bereavement, spoke in that room, in that moment.
“My son is gone,” he said, “and their sons are here.””
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Exactly! I think it was in really poor taste. Yes, the Leopold and Loeb family’s had the shock of learning what they’re been doing and faced public shame, but at least they were alive. Leopold even got to die of natural causes. Bobby was killed at 14 before he even had a chance at life.
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Hi there! By chance do you know what high school/colleges Germain Reinhart, Susan Lurie and Lorraine Nathan went to? I’d be interested in finding their yearbooks! It’s always fun to try to find if there are any signatures on them. I have the two U of M yearbooks for 1922/23 and went page by page to see if I got lucky to see if there was a signature from Dickie Loeb on them – no luck of course haha – thank you in advance!
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Hey Eva, I’m not sure for all of them, but Susan’s 1925 college year book IS up for sale: https://www.ebay.com/itm/175537972352
Lorraine went to Hyde Park High School and the 1922 book has a good sized photo of her. I’m not sure of any of the other schools, sadly.
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you are the best! thank you so much!!
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Do u know which high school they each attended? Thank you very much!
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Yes, Leopold attended the Harvard School for Boys and Loeb attended the University of Chicago High School. No prob, thanks for your question!
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And is the University of Chicago High School and today’s University Of Chicago Laboratory School the same one? Thanks!
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The Lab Schools covers from infants (in a nursery/day care program) to 12th grade and everything in between! Loeb started in the lab schools in 3rd grade and continued through 12th. Today the schools are delineated into different schools, including lower, middle and high school. Im not at home so can’t check where the delimitation was at the time, but there was definitely a divide between the lower grades and high school when Loeb attended. The high school has its own yearbook and newspaper, etc. But yes, all were included under the Laboratory umbrella.
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My book arrived this week, it’s so so interesting and well written, by far my favorite I’ve read on this case (and I’ve read MANY)! I just finished today! When was it that Nathan said he was insecure about his appearance? Was it in the psychiatric reports, when he said he felt ‘physically inferior’? I wasn’t quite certain what they meant by that. Also, I find it so interesting he was insecure about his name, it’s hard to imagine a time when Nathan wasn’t a well-known name!
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Thank you, I’m really glad you enjoyed it! That was during the psychiatric examinations, yeah. That he felt not good looking but also he wasn’t as tall, strong or good at sports as his peers were, so he thought he was physically inferior to them. I was surprised by the name thing too, but I looked it up on those baby name popularity sites and it seems to check out, that it was pretty uncommon! He also thought longer names were unmasculine, so that didn’t help.
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Hey I want to ask about Leopold’s visit to Chopin’s house, do you know what year he traveled there? I’m from Poland and it shocked me honestly
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Sure! I don’t know if it was Chopin’s house exactly, but it was the village where he was born. Here’s the information I have about it.
Leopold was on a guided tour for this part of the trip (this taking place on Sunday, September 1, 1968), and the itinerary reads: “3:00 p.m. Excursion to Zelazowa Wola commences. At the birthplace of Chopin, a special recital has been arranged.”
The program for this event is autographed by Ryszard Bakst, the man who was playing. The program lists the pieces performed as: Nocturne in F sharp minor Op. 48 No 2, Polonaise-Fantasy Op.61, Mazurkas in C sharp minor Op. 6 No 2, Mazurkas in C major, Op. 24 No 2, Mazurkas in A minor Op. 68 No 2, Mazurkas in C major Op. 68 No 1 and Scherzo in C sharp minor Op. 39.
Leopold had a little souvenir flipbook of photos of Chopin’s house as well, the cover has the name of the town printed on it. There’s a word written on the front which may be in Polish.
Then Leopold mentions the recital in a letter: “we did take in a magnificent Chopin recital at his birthplace by the leading present day expert on Chopin.”
Edit: I see you only asked about the year of his visit, haha whoops! Sorry for the information dump, I got excited to share!
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Thank you a lot and that’s most definitely alright, I’m glad I got to learn so much more about it!
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