They were sealed until 2014, but before their opening, historians used copies at the Western Reserve Historical Society (Kenneth W. Duckett Papers) and in Russell's papers at the University of Wyoming.[238][239][240][241] Russell concluded from the letters that Phillips was the love of Harding's life—"the enticements of his mind and body combined in one person,"[242] but historian Justin P. Coffey in his 2014 review of Harding biographies criticizes him for "obsess[ing] over Harding's sex life."[243]
The allegations of Harding's other known mistress, Nan Britton, long remained uncertain. In 1927, Britton, also a Marionite, published The President's Daughter, alleging that her child Elizabeth Ann Blaesing had been fathered by Harding. The book, which was dedicated to "all unwedded mothers" and "their innocent children whose fathers are usually not known to the world," was sold, like pornography, door-to-door, wrapped in brown paper.[244] The late president's reputation had deteriorated since his death in 1923, and many believed Britton.[245] The public was tantalized by salacious details such as Britton's claim that the two had sex in a closet near the Oval Office, with Secret Service agents posted to ward off intruders.