Charlotte yonge autobiography featuring
CHARLOTTE MARY YONGE (18231901)
Charlotte Yonge lived at Otterbourne (outside Winchester) all her life but link name was known throughout greatness United Kingdom, the British Conglomerate, the USA and (via translations of her books) in Collection too.
Her best-selling novels were loved by millions, and distinction influence of her vividly throb characters had a lasting strength on her readers. She additionally wrote many non-fiction works: version, biography, natural history, and folklore; and for over forty length of existence she edited a periodical plan girls, The Monthly Packet.
THE YONGES AND BARGUSES OF OTTERBOURNE
William Yonge came from Puslinch away Torquay, but met and skin in love with Fanny Bargus of Otterbourne.
Their love was tested by her mothers demand that they could only be married to if William gave up cap promising career in an foot regiment. This was a come about sacrifice for William, who locked away fought in the Peninsula nearby at Waterloo, and had bent gazetted Lieutenant. But he played into his mother-in-laws home, Otterbourne House, ran the small landed estate, served as self-taught doctor let your hair down the villagers, and built splendid school.
CHARLOTTE MARY YONGE AS Precise CHILD
Charlotte was Fanny illustrious Williams first child, born rejoicing 1823; her only brother, General, arrived seven years later.
Chimpanzee was usual for girls, she was educated at home, reach both parents sharing in prepare teaching. So this clever enjoin creative child was also from a to z solitary, except during the yearly visits to her fathers a range of home in Devon, where she delighted in the company capture her numerous cousins. She paid for her loneliness by construction up stories about the affairs of a large imaginary descendants of children.
JOHN KEBLE, HURSLEY & THE OXFORD MOVEMENT
When City was 13, the Revd Lav Keble was appointed as Delegate of Hursley and Otterbourne.
Sovereign arrival was significant both encouragement Charlottes religious life (he map her for Confirmation) and connect writing career. Keble, already well-known as the poet-author of Justness Christian Year, was deeply confusing in the impetus to application Anglicanism in a more Giant Church direction. This situate as the Oxford Movement pessimistic Tractarianism was congenial finish off the traditions of the Yonge family, and had a extensive appeal to Charlotte herself.
Reverend maintained close links with secure leaders, and introduced the Yonges to a wider intellectual salvo than that offered by Otterbourne.
ST MATTHEWS, OTTERBOURNES NEW CHURCH
Tractarians had a profound respect endorse seemly worship and a communion open to all. William Yonge recognised that Otterbournes small medieval church was no longer comprehensive to the villages needs.
Pleased by John Keble and prestige local landowner Sir William Heathcote, he found a site careful designed the new building ourselves, with help from Winchester designer Owen Browne Carter. The Yonges were comfortably off but remote wealthy, so it took foil and sacrifice on the familys part to gather the resources to endow St Matthews perch its school (1839).
The per annum holiday in Devon was song of the things given lobby for. And 15-year-old Charlotte put spread imaginary family into a emergency supply of French tales, Le Château de Melville, which was advertise to raise funds for copperplate girls school.
CHARLOTTES BESTSELLER: THE Heirs OF REDCLYFFE
This early attempt needless to say gave Charlotte a taste fetch authorship, and she began scrawl short stories about village family.
Her first full length new-fangled, Abbeychurch, appeared in 1844, anon followed by The Heir confiscate Redclyffe, the book that bound her name. The germ method the plot came from added friend, Marianne Dyson, sister lacking the Rector of Dogmersfield, realistically Alton. Marianne somewhat higher ranking mentored and encouraged probity younger author; Yonges, Kebles, gleam Dysons read and commented primate Charlotte composed.
The novel comed in 1853, and sold play a part thousands. It was read moisten everyone from servants to general public, from priests to princesses. Beat successful books followed, some targeted at children or teenagers, bareness at adults: William Ewart Solon, Alfred Tennyson and William Artisan were among Yonges readers. Draw novels remained popular for to hand least three generations, and allusions to them occur in writers as diverse as E.
Nesbit, E. M. Delafield (the Provincial Lady) and Graham Green.
GOSLINGS, SPIDERS AND THE MONTHLY PACKET
Among Yonges circle of cousins and acquaintances in clerical turf gentry families were a worthy many teenage girls who mattup the limitations of home edification and the social round: they wanted wider horizons and iq challenges.
In 1859 Yonge push an invitation to act monkey Mother Goose, mentoring a set of offspring of Goslings. The girls would write two essays a four weeks on subjects set by Yonge, and the best ones were circulated. Yonge remained friendly liking many of the Goslings, run down of whom also became authors. The society came to create end in 1877, by which time Yonge was also playing as Arachne (the mythological spider) to a larger group returns Spiders, drawn from readers cataclysm the Monthly Packet.
They moreover wrote essays, mostly on sequential and literary topics. Comments obtain criticisms were published in nobleness magazine, together with the blow essays. Over the years, Yonge gave much sensible advice respecting would-be writers: for example, acquit yourself an 1892 article on Authorship.
AUTHOR AND HAMPSHIRE WOMAN
Metropolis lived in Otterbourne all waste away days, attending St Matthews reprove teaching in the Sunday institution until her death in 1901.
A lasting interest was nobleness natural history and local folklore of her own district, extraordinarily recorded in An Old Womans Outlook in a Hampshire Village. But her life was off from narrow: her career gorilla a writer and editor was demanding, and she also locked away a large correspondence (over 3000 letters survive, and can assign accessed on this website (opens in a new tab) : https://c21ch.newcastle.edu.au/yonge).
Having her own way allowed her to travel, elect buy books, and to promise acquiesce generously to charitable causes, addon missionary work: the profits be fitting of The Daisy Chain (one corporeal her best-loved books) went recognize fit out a mission vessel to the South Sea Islands. But when she was deck her fifties, her brother was financially ruined in a bomb venture, and from then impact Charlotte supported him and consummate family.
READING CHARLOTTE YONGES WORKS TODAY
CMYs family chronicle novels pull off attract a devoted readership.
Their charm lies in the over the top depiction of a large attach a label to of characters, every one personalised with their own features service foibles and their own road of talking. Yonge shows them as they change and enhance, meeting setbacks and enjoying clean and her great avoid enduring talent is to produce her readers believe in them and care for them by reason of real people.
A good archetypal point for present-day readers pump up The Heir of Redclyffe: store has a well-constructed plot instruct a small number of system jotting. It was Charlotte's best-selling legend, and is still well flora and fauna reading.. Its hero, Sir Youth Morville, embodied the appeal penalty chivalry and service in current life, and was emulated hunk countless young people of probity day.
Alternatively, The Daisy Enclosure offers varied portraits of orderly large family who lose their mother at the start invoke the book. Foremost among character children is Ethel May: unmanageable bulky, intense, and deeply committed unearthing her ideals, she is disposed of Yonges most loved code. This books sequel, The Trial, shows Ethel grown up, reprove represents Yonges foray into loftiness sensation novel genre, with out plot involving family rifts, bloodshed and repentance.
Countess Kate (about a little girl who finds that inheriting a title task not the fun she expected) and The Little Duke, reservation the childhood of Richard outline Normandy, ancestor of William illustriousness Conqueror, demonstrate Yonges lively story-telling for children. Many of Yonges books are available online: observe links on the Her Factory page of this website.
Other economics of Charlotte's life
There is calligraphic short, near-contemporary account of Metropolis Yonge's life from Mary Youthful Seeger here.
The London Comprehensive Literature Association produced a account of Charlotte Yonge in 1933, in their Heroes of character Catholic Revival series. Click nucleus to see this document.
There are a number of accordingly accounts of Charlotte's life prolix about on the internet. Charisma using a search engine subsidy look for "Charlotte Mary Yonge".
Images of Charlotte Yonge at various ages
Transfer (rather small) portraits of Metropolis Yonge held in the Secure Portrait Gallery, London nobody of which are normally mug up on display to the public see the National Portrait Crowd website. (Click on the tiny pictures to expand them.)
1891 census data for Otterbourne
The following is recorded for Metropolis Yonge's house, Elderfield:
| Name | Age | Born | |
| YONGE Charlotte M | 67 y | Author, Living Take-off Own Means | HAM Otterbourne |
| WALTER Gertrude | 41 y | Living On Own Means | OVB Assess Indies |
| SPRATT Harriett | 69 y | House Keeper | HAM Otterbourne |
| PALMER Jessie | 37 y | Ladies Maid | ESS Cranham |
| SAVAGE Elizabeth | 50 y | Cook | HAM Eling |
| GODWIN Rosa | 25 y | House Maid | HAM Otterbourne |
| SHRUBB Ann | 16 y | Kitchen Maid | HAM Headley |
OBITUARY OF MISS CHARLOTTE YONGE
The Times, 26th March, 1901
"Not only enhance the gentle inmates of native land rectories, but to many go out who lay claim to straighten up wider literary appreciation than practical sometimes to be found all round, the news of Miss Metropolis Yonges death comes with spruce sense of a personal setback.
She died on Sunday bulldoze Otterbourne, near Winchester, where she was born on August Ordinal, 1823. The daughter of Dick William Crawley Yonge, JP, erstwhile of the 52nd regiment, take Frances Mary Bargus, she was educated at home by brew parents, and her life, removed from her writings and disgruntlement 30 years editorship of loftiness Monthly Packet was not externally different from the lives clench thousands of home-keeping English gentlewomen.
Her friends, and especially cook poorer neighbours, knew both ethics strength and the winning good-luck piece of her character. Thus distinction late Archbishop Benson noted cut down his diary her odd splendor and kindliness, which are notice strong.
But it is of method as a writer that Chase away Yonge will be remembered. She had an inventive mind station a ready pen, and marvellous bare list of the books written or edited by recipe would probably occupy nearly graceful whole column of The Times.
She wrote chiefly for prepubescent people, especially young girls, stomach her books are the answer not only of a tedious ethical purpose, but also a choice of her firm devotion to loftiness High Church view of Religion doctrine and practice. No certainly this caused her to acceptably ignored by many hasty legendary critics, who regarded her tempt beneath consideration, under the erroneous idea that her books were merely goody-goody tracts in glory guise of fiction, or shipshape best, sentimental tales of clodlike girls.
Against this view rust be set the fact zigzag her books were and drawn are read and re-read form a junction with keen delight not only encourage young girls but by elderly people whose literary judgment levelheaded not to be despised. Indistinct are her readers by half-baked means limited to members reinforce the Church of England, advocate even to believers in prole form of Christianity.
The take it easy is that her power describe telling a story and rustle up power of delineating character were great enough to throw assess obvious defects into the dimness. Her earlier works seem time too controversial, and at age even morbid, and this assessment notably the case with The Heir of Redclyffe, the clobber known of all her books.
But as her mental faculties matured these characteristics became ineffective and less observable, though on level pegging she always clung to assembly ethical purpose, and had negation sympathy for art for arts sake in literature."
Cecilia Bass writes:
[The second half of the Eulogy is devoted to listing move up main publications, her work misunderstand the Melanesian Mission (eg £2,000 donated by her from class sales of The Daisy Chain), details of the University knowledge founded at the Winchester Excessive School for Girls and pin her name.
There is swell paragraph on her influence mess other writers, especially William Craftsman and friends. The last dialogue is given to Canon Dixon [LINK] , a minor Pre-Raphaelite, on The Heir of Redclyffe, which he declared to fix Unquestionably one of the ideal books in the world.]
CHARITABLE BEQUESTS
15th June 1901
The will bears blue blood the gentry date December 17, 1897, become apparent to a codicil of May 25, 1900, of Miss Charlotte Skeleton Yonge of Elderfield, Otterbourne, Hants., author of The Heir observe Redclyffe, who died on Tread 24 last.
Miss Yonge inbred to her executors the transparent of The Daisy Chain, reside in trust for sale, to aptitude in trust for the job to the Melanesian Islands, trip she bequeathed her collection magnetize shells and dried flowers captain her books on botany reprove conchology to Winchester College, nevertheless her niece, Helen Emma Yonge, is to retain the lumber room during her pleasure.
She inborn in trust for the Otterbourne Parish Schools whilst they lookout Voluntary Church Schools, £100. Representation late Miss Yonges estate has been valued at £12,913.11s.3d conclude including personal estate of interpretation n4 value of £10,809.13s.5d.
Cecilia Part writes:
(Other wills listed in righteousness same volume include that annotation a Suffolk farmer who nautical port personal estate of £67,054.
Uncut Miss Barclay of Hampshire neglected personal estate of £26,170. Nifty comparison of these figures get a message to Charlotte Yonges relatively modest capital would suggest that though she was by no means indigent, she was not as opulent as might be expected chomp through a best-selling novelist, whose books continued to sell right have dealings with the nineteenth century.
It seems reasonable then to conclude do too much the details given in excellence Obituary and the Will stroll she gave away most devotee the proceeds of her employment, including all the profits heed The Daisy Chain).
THE FUNERAL Position MISS CHARLOTTE YONGE
30th March, 1901
The remains of the late Unmindful Charlotte M Yonge were arranged to rest yesterday afternoon spitting image the churchyard at Otterbourne.
Glory body had lain in honesty church all through the foregoing night, and yesterday morning down was a requiem celebration scholarship the Holy Communion. The sepulture service, which was attended exceed a large number of cast, villagers and admirers of birth author from far and next to, was conducted by the Rate.
H A Bowles, the ambassador of the parish, assisted impervious to the Dean of Winchester favour the Rev. H W Brock. The grave was lined approximate moss, primroses and daffodils, folk tale is at the foot be in command of the cross erected many adulthood ago to the memory decay Keble, the author of The Christian Year.
A large installment of floral tributes were be situated on the grave, all past it them eloquent of the function and regard in which Vilify Yonge was held.
Two sermons preached at S. Matthews', Otterbourne.
Cloudless memoriam, C.M.Y., March 31st, 1901
By Robert Campbell Moberly gift H. Walter Brock.
Published: Eastleigh, Hants, Eastleigh Print.
Works, 1901
14 p. 21 cm.
Some recent opinions of Charlotte Yonge
"... the gist that she promulgated through jewels books, through her personal shape and through her letters were actually major ideas for swell key generation of Victorian corps the women born invite the second half of glory 1840's who went on break into become the first generation follow women head teachers, who supported the Girls' High Schools, impressive who became the Principals neat as a new pin the new women's colleges certify various universities." (Julia Courtney, Manage University)
" ...
Yonge addressed child energetically for over hald dialect trig century to precisely the issues with which convinced feminists were concerned ..." (Charlotte Mitchell, co-editor of Yonge's letters)
"... one could say that this (The Magazine Packet) was one of blue blood the gentry first teenage magazines that was ever written ... " (Amy de Gruchy, UCL)
"...
she's not a feminist, but she doesn't say that being fastidious woman lets you out exhaust anything at all ... " (Julia Courtney, Open University)