Mérimée never married, but he needed female company. He had a series of romantic affairs, sometimes carried out by correspondence. In January 1828, during his youth, he was wounded in duel with the husband of his mistress at the time, Émilie Lacoste. In 1831 he began a relationship by correspondence with Jenny Dacquin. Their relationship continued for ten years, but they only met six or seven times, and then rarely alone. In 1873, after his death, she published all of his letters under the title "Lettres a une inconnue", or "Letters to an Unknown", in several volumes.