Charlotte Bronte to her publisher, W. S. Williams, 1 February 1849:
'There are two volumes in the first parcel [sent on loan by Williams] which, having seen, I cannot bring myself to part with, and must beg Mr Smith [Williams's publishing partner] to retain: Mr Thackeray's "Journey from Cornhill, etc.", and "The Testimony to the Truth." That last is indeed a book after my own heart. I do like the mind it discloses — it is of a fine and high order. Alexander may be a clown by birth, but he is a nobleman by nature. When I could read no other book [following death of her sister Emily in December 1848], I read his and derived comfort from it. No matter whether or not I can agree in all his views, it is the principles, the feelings, the heart of the man I admire.'
Century: 1800-1849 Reader/Listener/Group: Charlotte Brontë Print: Book
Charlotte Bronte to W. S. Williams, 5 April 1849:
'The Cornhill books are still our welcome and congenial resource while Anne [sister, in terminal decline] is well enough to enjoy reading. Carlyle's "Miscellanies" interest me greatly. We have read "The Emigrant Family." The characters in the work are good, full of quiet truth and nature, and the local colouring is excellent; yet I can hardly call it a good novel. Reflective, truth-loving, and even elevated as is Alexander Harris's mind, I should say he scarcely possesses the creative faculty in sufficient vigour to excel as a writer of fiction. He creates nothing — he only copies. "The Testimony to the Truth [of Christianity]" is a better book than any tale he can write will ever be.'
Century: 1800-1849 Reader/Listener/Group: Charlotte Bronte and family Print: Book
