An Inquiry Concerning the Origin of Christianity

An Inquiry Concerning the Origin of Christianity

Hennell, Charles

London: Smallfield, 1838

HathiTrust

1838

"Mr. and Mrs. Hennell were staunch Unitarians of the Priestley school, and their children grew up with deep reverence for their religion. After her marriage to Charles Bray, Caroline (or Cara, as she was always called) was so disturbed by her husband's rationalism that she appealed to her brother Charles, a man of sensitive discrimination and scholarly mind, to re-examine the New Testament for evidence to support her faith. After a serious study he came to the conclusion that no miracle or "deviation from the known laws of nature" was needed to account for the development of Christianity. The moderation with which he set forth the result in An Inquiry concerning the Origin of Christianity, 1838, enhanced its effect on GE, who had bought the second edition of the book (which appeared in August 1841) before she met the Brays. For some time her mind had been turning away from the Evangelicalism of her girlhood, and the reading of Hennell merely precipitated a reaction long in preparation." GEL 1: lvii Source: Avrom Fleischman. "George Eliot's Reading: A Chronological List." George Eliot - George Henry Lewes Studies, September 2008, No. 54/55 (September 2008), p. 8.

Hennell, Charles, An Inquiry Concerning the Origin of Christianity, George Eliot's Reading, George Eliot Archive, edited by Beverley Park Rilett. https://GeorgeEliotArchive.org, Accessed September 7, 2026. https://georgeeliotarchive.org/items/show/57776

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