The Athenaeum review of Christmas Eve and Easter Day, while recognising the beauty of many passages in the two poems, criticised strongly the discussion of theological subjects in 'doggrel verse;' and its analysis of the theology would hardly be satisfactory to the author.
Referring to the lines entitled A Child's Grave at Florence, which had apparently been misunderstood as implying the death of Mrs. Browning's own child.
These are the papers subsequently published under the title Recollections of a Literary Life. Among them was an article on the Brownings, giving biographical detail with respect to Mrs. Browning's early life, especially as to the loss of her brother, which caused extreme pain to her sensitive nature, as a later letter testifies.