--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is not quite true that there are no…" description: "\"It is not quite true that there are no good letters written in America: among my own circle of correspondents there, there are ladies and gentlemen who..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/108/harriet-martineau-6736_america_it-is-not-quite-true-that-there-are-no-g_2174562.png" --- # It is not quite true that there are no good letters… ![“It is not quite true that there are no good letters written in America: among my own circle of correspondents there, there are ladies and gentlemen whose letters would stand a comparison with any for frankness, grace, and epistolary beauty of every kind. But I am not aware of any medium between…” quote by Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/108/harriet-martineau-6736_america_it-is-not-quite-true-that-there-are-no-g_2174562.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/108/harriet-martineau-6736_america_it-is-not-quite-true-that-there-are-no-g_2174562.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/108/harriet-martineau-6736_america_it-is-not-quite-true-that-there-are-no-g_2174562.png) > “It is not quite true that there are no good letters written in America: among my own circle of correspondents there, there are ladies and gentlemen whose letters would stand a comparison with any for frankness, grace, and epistolary beauty of every kind. But I am not aware of any medium between this excellence and the boarding-school insignificance which characterizes the rest.” [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Some American letters excel in honesty and grace, yet most are trivial. **In simple terms:** Excellent letters are rare among many mediocre ones. Key Takeaway Appreciate and emulate high-quality correspondence. Themes literature correspondence quality Mood appreciative analytical Type literary historical When to use this quote - academic writing - personal letters - historical research - teaching writing Key Concepts epistolary art cultural standards communication Questions to Reflect On - Which letters have impacted you most? - How can we raise the overall quality of writing? A Different Perspective Not all cultures value the same literary standards. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Circles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circles/) [Comparison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comparison/) [Excellence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excellence/) [Frankness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frankness/) [Gentleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gentleman/) [Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grace/) [Insignificance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insignificance/) [Ladies and gentlemen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ladies-and-gentlemen/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) ## Related quotes > [“I couldn't help but notice that he'd pronounced her name differently, like her name, and only her name, contained all the good letters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-matson/i-couldn-t-help-but-notice-that-he-d-pronounced-her-name-differently/) [Morgan Matson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-matson/) > [My appearance on 'Public School' garnered a smattering of fan mail from girls, which was good, and letters from mothers saying I was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lovegrove/my-appearance-on-public-school-garnered-a-smattering-of-fan-mail-from/) [James Lovegrove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lovegrove/) > [In small letters, someone has written NEVER FORGET on one of the slats. I know it's supposed to be a pledge, but it feels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/in-small-letters-someone-has-written-never-forget-on-one-of-the-slats/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [The Nature of Familiar Letters, written, as it were, to the Moment, while the Heart is agitated by Hopes and Fears, on Events undecided,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-richardson/the-nature-of-familiar-letters-written-as-it-were-to-the-moment-while/) [Samuel Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-richardson/) > [He was carrying a suitcase with clothing in order to stay and another just like it with almost two thousand letters that she had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/he-was-carrying-a-suitcase-with-clothing-in-order-to-stay-and-another/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“Have you ever had a difference with a dear friend? 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When you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-chandler-harris/people-no-longer-write-letters-lacking-the-leisure-and-for-the-most/) [Joel Chandler Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-chandler-harris/) > [“Letters should be written to send news, to say send me news, to say meet me at the train station.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-michaels/letters-should-be-written-to-send-news-to-say-send-me-news-to-say/) [Anne Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-michaels/) > [“My mother still deludes herself that the letters are written out of more than a desire to spend as little time in our company…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-hellisen/my-mother-still-deludes-herself-that-the-letters-are-written-out-of/) [Cat Hellisen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cat-hellisen/) > [I get fan letters written in everything from crayons to lipstick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-ziering/i-get-fan-letters-written-in-everything-from-crayons-to-lipstick/) [Ian Ziering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-ziering/) > [“But what if the Bible was not God’s word? What if it was just a collection of books and letters written by men: expressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-mcroberts/but-what-if-the-bible-was-not-god-s-word-what-if-it-was-just-a/) [Steve McRoberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-mcroberts/) > [“She knew it the way people say they know they are about to be hit by lightning, yet remain powerless to run, unable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/she-knew-it-the-way-people-say-they-know-they-are-about-to-be-hit-by/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“I keep thinking you already know. I keep thinking I’ve sent you letters that were only ever written in my mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-thomas/i-keep-thinking-you-already-know-i-keep-thinking-i-ve-sent-you/) [Iain Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-thomas/) > [My shoulders sagged. Really, is it too much to ask that I be able to come home from a long day of work and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-cabot/my-shoulders-sagged-really-is-it-too-much-to-ask-that-i-be-able-to/) [Meg Cabot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-cabot/) ## More by Harriet Martineau > [There have been few things in my life which have had a more genial effect on my mind than the possession of a piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/there-have-been-few-things-in-my-life-which-have-had-a-more-genial/) [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) > [it is a testament to the strength and purity of the democratic sentiment in the country, that the republic has not been overthrown by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/it-is-a-testament-to-the-strength-and-purity-of-the-democratic/) [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) > [School is no place of education for any children whatever till their minds are well put in action. This is the work which has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/school-is-no-place-of-education-for-any-children-whatever-till-their/) [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) > [Authorship has never been with me a matter of choice. I have not done it for amusement, or for money, or for fame, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/authorship-has-never-been-with-me-a-matter-of-choice-i-have-not-done/) [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) > [it is the worst humiliation and grievance of the suffering, that they cause suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/it-is-the-worst-humiliation-and-grievance-of-the-suffering-that-they/) [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) > [Fidelity to conscience is inconsistent with retiring modesty. If it be so, let the modesty succumb. It can be only a false modesty which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/fidelity-to-conscience-is-inconsistent-with-retiring-modesty-if-it-be/) [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) > [I wrote because I could not help it. There was something that I wanted to say, and I said it: that was all. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/i-wrote-because-i-could-not-help-it-there-was-something-that-i-wanted/) [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) > [The instruction furnished is not good enough for the youth of such a country ... There is not even any systematic instruction given on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/the-instruction-furnished-is-not-good-enough-for-the-youth-of-such-a/) [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) > [ \[I\] wish that the land-tax went a little more according to situation than it does. 'Tis really ridiculous, how one has to pay five… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/i-wish-that-the-land-tax-went-a-little-more-according-to-situation/) [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) > [Who is apt, on occasion, to assign a multitude of reasons when one will do? This is a sure sign of weakness in argument.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/who-is-apt-on-occasion-to-assign-a-multitude-of-reasons-when-one-will/) [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) > [It is hard to tell which is worse; the wide diffusion of things that are not true, or the suppression of things that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/it-is-hard-to-tell-which-is-worse-the-wide-diffusion-of-things-that/) [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) > [Religion is a temper, not a pursuit. It is the moral atmosphere in which human beings are to live and move. Men do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/religion-is-a-temper-not-a-pursuit-it-is-the-moral-atmosphere-in/) [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) > [Moral excellence has no regard to classes and professions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/moral-excellence-has-no-regard-to-classes-and-professions/) [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) > [I want to be a free rover on the breezy common of the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/i-want-to-be-a-free-rover-on-the-breezy-common-of-the-universe/) [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) > [For my own part, I had rather suffer any inconvenience from having to work occasionally in chambers and kitchenthan witness the subservience in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/for-my-own-part-i-had-rather-suffer-any-inconvenience-from-having-to/) [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) [Explore all 98 Harriet Martineau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) [Browse all 20,382 America quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is not quite true that there are no good letters written in America: among my own circle of correspondents there, there are ladies and gentlemen whose letters would stand a comparison with any for frankness, grace, and epistolary beauty of every kind. 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