James Westfall Thompson on Sharon Turner

“Turner's work came as a revelation to the reading public. Based on solid and patient erudition, its judicious and authoritative note won approval... After speaking of the Britons and Romans, Turner described the life and customs of the Teutonic invaders before they left the mainland,—and devoted much space to the religious, economic, and social features of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in England. Inferior to Hume in the narrative portions, he offered a far broader view of early life in the island.”

“The chief value of Turner's writings today is found in his notes. His artistic pretensions were least happy of all; his arrangement was neither orderly nor luminous, and digressions annoy the reader. Southey winced over some of his later volumes. When Turner emerged from the Saxon period he had little to offer which was new, and Lingard's work superseded these later portions. But in his proper domain he worked with enthusiasm and effectiveness, won the esteem of Hallam, Southey, Scott, and Tennyson, and had the satisfaction of stirring the English mind to a new consciousness of its ancestry. As a student of Anglo-Saxon materials, Turner held his own until Kemble and Thorpe appeared.”