 William Carus Wilson (1791–1859), who was based near Kirkby Lonsdale where the journal was initially printed.Wilson is perhaps best known for being portrayed negatively as Mr Brocklehurst in Charlotte Brontë's "Jane Eyre" (1847).Especially up to the turn of the century, "The Children´s Friend" was essentially a religious work, promoting a "grim morality", and encouraging in its young audience the reading of the Bible, evangelism and charitable works.