Elizabeth Barrett to Mary Russell Mitford, 14 April 1845: 'I must beg you to order & read "Le rouge et le noir" by a M. de Stendhal .. a "nom de guerre" I fancy. I wish I knew the names of any other books written by him. This, which I shd. not dare to name to a person in the world except you, so dark & deep is the colouring, is very striking & powerful & full of deep significance [...] It is, as to simple power, a first-class book according to my impression, -- though painful & noxious in many ways. But it is a book for you to read at all risks -- you must certainly read it for the power's sake. It has ridden me like an incubus for several days.'