Comments on: Dear Charlotte

By: Satima Flavell

Satima Flavell — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 02:38:29 +0000

PS Just checked – she was still a glint in her father’s eye:-)

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By: Satima Flavell

Satima Flavell — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 02:34:46 +0000

I’ve seldom kept letters, even hard copy ones, and that’s a shame, for as a keen family historian I treasure the few old letters and post cards that have been passed down or photocopied and shared. I found in a book from the archives at Wakefield in Yorkshire a letter written by a many-times distant aunt to her son at the time of the Great Fire of London. It’s an interesting document in any case, but knowing the lady was one of my forebears makes it really special.

Just as special is a photo of a marriage entry at Dewsbury on 7 July 1811. The groom was one Joseph Preston; the bride, Charlotte Speight. The ceremony was conducted by Patrick Bronte, then curate at Dewsbury, and one of the witnesses was my 3x great-grandfather, Richard Hemingway. I wonder what Patrick’s daughter Charlotte was doing on that day?

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By: Juliet

Juliet — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 00:53:14 +0000

My letter writing was reduced to a minimum with the advent of email – I regret that, though I appreciate the convenience and speed email allows. I kept on writing letters to my mother until her death earlier this year, as she didn’t ever come to grips with the computer age. And I write letters rather than emails to my family and friends when they are dealing with big life crises.

Keeping letters is good – you are maintaining those important social records, Thea. However, like Arthur Bell Nicholls, I’m not very keen on the idea that personal letters written in my youth might surface in the public arena at some future date!

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By: theamcginnis

theamcginnis — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 17:18:09 +0000

your point about letter writing is so important. my son is in iraq and, of course, email is great for keeping in close daily contact (when possible). but i make an effort to write one very long letter each week to him and include it in a package. so when it arrives he will have much to read and enjoy at his leisure (if he has any!!) on another point, i am also an inverterate letter keeper – something my friends and family members find so helpful – and extremely humorous. Their childhood letters to me are so adorable and revealing and it’s something they can share with their children. i keep hoping one of them will become famous enough that i’ll read a query in the new york times book review looking for any personal letters of…

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By: Amy

Amy — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 15:50:00 +0000

This book has been languishing on my TBR for a while, but it’s now moved to the top of the stack. Thanks for posting this.

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By: Therese Walsh

Therese Walsh — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 13:03:13 +0000

Charlotte sounds like someone who could’ve existed today: smart and business savvy, with the talent to take her as far as she wanted to go. It’s too bad she didn’t have the benefit of 21st century medicine.

Your point about letters is a good one, Juliet. Things have changed drastically in our society thanks to technology just within the last ten years.

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By: Kathleen Bolton

Kathleen Bolton — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 12:23:46 +0000

Oh Charlotte.

More than any other writer, she inspired my love of the written word. She’ll always be contemporary for writing a strong character holding onto dignity while in a wage-slave existence.

I’m glad she tasted a little connubial happiness in her tragic life. I’d hate to think she’d given up on love.

Thanks for a great post, Juliet.

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