“I delight to think that I have passed the bounds of a mere literary correspondence, and may, I hope, address you as a friend.”

Marking the moment when literary admiration becomes friendship · Letter to Joanna Baillie, 31 May 1827

• Art
• Friendship
• Hope

“O how many deaths there are in the world for the affections!”

Treating separation and loss as forms of emotional bereavement · Letter to Joanna Baillie, 12 April 1828

• Friendship
• Love
• Mortality

“Let me, however, be thankful for the happiness I at present enjoy, and for the privilege which peculiar circumstances have afforded me of being able myself to superintend their education.”

Expressing gratitude for being closely involved in her children's education · Letter to Joanna Baillie, 31 May 1827

• Childhood
• Joy
• Love