“Mrs. Gaskell put herself into her stories; her emotions, her amusements
all poured out from a full heart, and she retold the experience of her
own loyal work among the poor, of her playtime among the well-to-do.
And as she knew more and more she told better and better what she had
lived through. She told the story of those she had known, of those she
had loved—so, at least, it seems to some readers, coming after long
years and re-reading more critically, perhaps, with new admiration.
Another fact about her is that she faced the many hard problems of her
life’s experience—faced them boldly, and set the example of writing to
the point. It has been followed by how many with half her knowledge and
insight, and without her generous purpose, taking grim subjects for art’s
sake rather than for humanity’s sake, as she did.” (_Blackstick Papers_,
1908.)