A letter written by Charlotte Bronte to a fan of her classic novel Jane Eyre was due to be sold at an auction yesterday.

The novelist thanks pharmacist David Waldie for his praise in the note dated January 19, 1853, which was expected to fetch up to £12,000 at auction in Edinburgh.

Mr Waldie, from Linlithgow in West Lothian, wrote to Charlotte after being impressed by Jane Eyre, which was published in 1847 under the pseudonym, Currer Bell.

She replied in her letter: “The sincere affection of a reader’s gratification is – I scarcely need to say – one of the much acceptable favours in which an author can be repaid for his labours.”

Charlotte died in 1855 aged 38 while pregnant with her first child.

The letter, which was addressed from Gloucester Terrace, London, was due to go under the hammer at Lyon and Turnbull.