A letter written by Charlotte Bronte to a fan of her classic novel Jane Eyre will be sold at auction this week.
The novelist thanks pharmacist David Waldie for his praise in the note dated January 19, 1853, which is expected to fetch up to £12,000 at auction in Edinburgh.
Waldie, from Linlithgow, West Lothian, wrote to Bronte after being impressed by Jane Eyre, published in 1847 under the pseudonym Currer Bell.
Bronte replied in her letter: "The sincere affection of a reader's gratification is - I scarcely need to say - one of the much acceptable favours in which an author can be repaid for his labours.
"I shall be glad if any future work of mine gives you equal pleasure to that you speak of having found in 'Jane Eyre'."
Jane Eyre was published the same year as Wuthering Heights by Bronte's sister Emily. It too was written under a pseudonym and it was only later that they and their sister Anne, also a writer, revealed their true identities to publishers.
Eldest sister Charlotte died aged 38 in 1855 while pregnant with her first child.
The letter addressed from "Gloucester Terrace, London" will be sold at Lyon and Turnbull on Wednesday.
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