Record Number: 28558

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

Charlotte Bronte (as Currer Bell) to her publisher, W. S. Williams, 29 March 1848:

'You mention Thackeray and the last number of "Vanity Fair." The more I read Thackeray's works, the more certain I am that he stands alone — alone in his sagacity, alone in his truth, alone in his feeling (his feeling, though he makes no noise about it, is about the most genuine that ever lived on a printed page), alone in his power, alone in his simplicity, alone in his self- control. Thackeray is a Titan, so strong that he can afford to perform with calm the most herculean feats [...] his is never the energy of delirium — his energy is sane energy, deliberate energy, thoughtful energy. The last number of "Vanity Fair" proves this peculiarly. Forcible, exciting in its force, still more impressive than exciting, carrying on the interest of the narrative in a flow, deep, resistless, it is still quiet — as quiet as reflection, as quiet as memory; and to me there are parts of it that sound as solemn as an oracle [...] Thackeray is unique.'

Century:

1800-1849

Date:

Between 1 Jan 1848 and 29 Mar 1848

Country:

England

Time

n/a

Place:

n/a

Type of Experience
(Reader):
 

silent aloud unknown
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown

Type of Experience
(Listener):
 

solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown

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Reader / Listener / Reading Group:

Reader:

Charlotte Brontë

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Female

Date of Birth:

21 Mar 1816

Socio-Economic Group:

Professional / academic / merchant / farmer

Occupation:

Writer

Religion:

Church of England

Country of Origin:

England

Country of Experience:

England

Listeners present if any:
e.g family, servants, friends

n/a

Additional Comments:

n/a

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Text Being Read:

Author:

William Makepeace Thackeray

Title:

Vanity Fair

Genre:

Fiction

Form of Text:

Print: Serial / periodical

Publication Details

In instalment.

Provenance

unknown

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Source Information:

Record ID:

28558

Source:

Print

Author:

n/a

Editor:

James Wise and John Alexander Symington

Title:

The Brontes: Their Lives, Friendships and Correspondence

Place of Publication:

Oxford

Date of Publication:

1980

Vol:

2

Page:

201

Additional Comments:

n/a

Citation:

James Wise and John Alexander Symington (ed.), The Brontes: Their Lives, Friendships and Correspondence, (Oxford, 1980), 2, p. 201, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=28558, accessed: 22 December 2024

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Additional Comments:

None