The Complete Works of Charlotte Brontë and Her Sisters - With Illustrationd From Photographs #221350

IN these critical' introductions to the books of the Bronte Sisters I have so far endeavoured, and must still endeavour, to speak, not the language of mere panegyric, but that natural to a reader whose critical sense, no less than his sense of enjoyment, shares in the general stimulus which is derived from the power and vitality of the books themselves. The Brontes are searching personalities. They challenge no less than they attract. Their vigorous effect upon the reader's sympathies and judgment has been always part of their ascendency, and one great secret of their enduring fame. To handle their work in a spirit Of flat eulogy and recommendation would be an offence to it and to them. Its technical faultiness, moreover.