Charlotte M. YongeReseñas

A relatively short book, presumably intended for children, but not written down to them. The Ninth Crusade is the background to a story about the relationships among the sons of Simon de Montfort. Sounds unpromising, perhaps, but nuanced and engaging.

The Carbonels (1895) by Charlotte M. Yonge was based on and inspired by her parents’ early years in the Hampshire village of Otterbourne and what an entertaining novel she produced from such source material.

In the summer of 1822 Captain Edmund Carbonel, who ‘had been in the army just in time for the final battles of the Peninsular war’, comes to live at Greenhow Farm ‘an estate bringing in about £500 a year.’ It is the local ‘big house’ in the village of Uphill. He is accompanied by his young wife Mary and her sister Dorothea; another younger sister Sophia is still at school in London. The Uphill people are described as ‘a thoroughly bad lot … no one will do anything with them.’ Astonished at their poverty and crudity, the Carbonels decide to reform Uphill.

While dealing with serious societal shifts of the early nineteenth century, CMY’s gentle humour illuminates young people slightly out of their depth in dealing with their cunning rural neighbours. There is the involved saga of the upside-down length of wallpaper in their drawing-room, ‘very delicate white, on which were traced in tender colouring – baskets of vine leaves and laburnhams.’ But as Dora exclaims, ‘see, the laburnhams and grapes are hanging upward.’ The origin of this interior design disagreement sets up a dangerous antipathy between one of the workmen, Dan Hewlett and Captain Carbonel. Its denouement takes place in the thrilling final chapters of the novel with the Captain Swing riots of 1830.

Before that there is the old-fashioned (and to the Carbonels) ugly church with its enormous pews and the three-decker pulpit they find peculiar. They are shocked by Dame Verdon’s school, only kept in order by her young but energetic granddaughter. Villagers are differentiated with their many and overlapping stories: the mischievous but fascinating Tirzah Todd (with her ‘gypsy connections’ ) who disposes of her poacher husband’s game; the hypocritical Nanny Barton who always puts on ‘a white apron and brought out a big Bible when she saw the ladies’ about to visit and the gentle invalid Judith Grey and her poor sister Molly, wife of Dan who ‘had been going deeper into the mire ever since.’

To modern readers the Carbonels approach to improving the villagers’ lives and prospects can often be both crass and patronising. There is a shocking scene where Dora and Sophia cut off the dirty, ragged and pungent hair of the schoolgirls in triumphant delight. ‘Lend me your scissors, Mrs Thorpe’ is Dora’s battle cry before being carried away despite the shock and weeping of the children. Captain Carbonel, with the assent of Mary, reprimands Dora, ‘but the children were not your slaves … You have done more harm than you will undo in a hurry.’ Tirzah Todd warns her neighbours against the ‘gentlefolk, with their soft words and such’ who will treat them all, ‘just like the blackamoors.’

This is a slight Charlotte M. Yonge novel in comparison with many of her earlier and best works, one more of her many publications for the National Society. Nonetheless The Carobonels is full of argument, memorable characters and there was a sequel too.

This book was part of the November 2023 CMY Fellowship book group read.

In Founded on paper or Uphill and downhill between the two Jubilees (1898), the sequel to something of her parents’ story in The Carbonels (1895), Charlotte M. Yonge moves closer to her own experience of village life and the changes and improvements that can be wrought by a good family in residence.

This novel was published by the National Society for Promoting Religious Education. According to Ellen Jordan, this was ‘one of the books Yonge wrote with the specific audience of the "weary hardworked women" who belonged to Mothers' Unions in mind.’

Miss Yonge returned to the Carbonels, but this time there is only the unmarried Miss Sophia Carbonel in residence at Greenhow Farm. She ‘was still lady of all work to Uphill and something between a mother and a companion to Estrid and Malvina’, her grandnieces and patroness to the residents of Uphill who lives have reflected the social changes of Victorian England. The young hero of The Carbonels Johnnie Hewlett has become ‘Mr. Hewlett … churchwarden and head of the firm, hale and hearty as any man near upon seventy could wish to be’.

The daughter of the good schoolmistress of The Carbonels is the widowed Jane Truman. Her large family ‘she contrived to bring up in a somewhat superior way, between the boys' work and her own, as a good laundress and charwoman, with the proceeds also of a large garden and orchard.’

As the novel opens Mrs Truman has her ambitious son Wilfred at home with his crosspatch invalid sister Laura, terribly injured in an accident leaving her blind in one eye, scarred and dependent. Laura was a clever and talented child but increasingly introspective, making a little money with her needlework but preferring her awkward poetry. Charlotte Yonge is fascinated by the effect her accident has on Laura.

‘She had always been used to notice, and to be sympathised with was almost as good as to be admired. She loved and entered into religious poetry and good books, and could really believe that it was a wise and thankworthy dispensation that had cut her off from vanity in her good looks.’

While Laura is the most interesting female character, the one who causes a certain havoc is the nursery maid Lucy Darling. She is Wilfred’s beloved but unwittingly pursued by a gentleman artist who wishes her to model for his painting of St Elizabeth of Hungary and Thuringia. Wilfred Truman and Lucy Darling are shadowed in the narrative by the hopeless ne’er-do-wells from Birmingham, Alf Greylark and his bedraggled wife Eva.

Charlotte Yonge wrote in What Books to Lend and What to Give, that the female readers of this kind of novel wanted ‘incident, pathos and sentiment to attract them’. My goodness, whatever ‘class of woman’ reader you are, Miss Yonge packs incident after incident into the last third of this novel, and swipes at grieving, hypocritical relations, and the gutter press as well as a satisfying (and of course sentimental) ending for Lucy Darling.

This book was part of the November 2023 CMY Fellowship book group and read in conjunction with The Carbonels.

3.5 stars- rounded down.

Set in the 15th century, this medieval tale reminded me of reading Ivanhoe in both language and style. A young girl, Christina, is taken from the shelter of her Uncle and Aunt who have raised her by a father she literally does not know. He takes her to a baronetcy perched in the Austrian alps to be a companion and nurse to an even younger girl who is the baron’s daughter. The place is so high and removed that it resembles an eagle’s aerie and Christina, a devout Christian, becomes a symbolic dove in the eagle’s nest.

Christina comes into this violent and coarse environment and, through her faith and goodness, affects changes that transform both the people and the system. This is a time of change generally in society as the independent barons are giving way to being governed by a Kaiser. The Adlersteins are among the last small group of what one wishes to call “ronin” rulers. The historical elements of the novel fascinate me, especially the role of women in Germanic society during this time. The religious elements are important but do not overshadow the progress of the story.

The story is multi-generational, following Christina’s story with that of her sons, Eberhard and Friedel. Considering the sometimes stilted language, the characters are amazingly absorbing. And, while the plot is sometimes a bit predictable, that is primarily because it is the kind of story people have found worthwhile to tell more than once.

One of the nice things about participating in the challenges in the Catching Up on Classics group is that I find myself reading books that would otherwise never make my list. This wasn’t anything like a favorite, but it was interesting and enjoyable, so I am glad to have read it.

Review by Katja: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28347472-le-petit-duc

Oh, I did try. I rather liked Ms Yonge's "The Daisy Chain", and I rather liked this- just not enough to press on past p 180.
If the title suggests a tortured genius, some George Eliot type, trying to find her niche in a stifling world....that's a misapprehension, as Rachel, despite her abilities, is a comic character. Her bold declamations show no understanding of others or the real world, and the reader "gets" that she's going to have to learn a bitter lesson.
A spinster, living with her mother and sister, Rachel is soon joined by a widowed cousin and her seven unruly children. Two handsome officers (friends of the deceased husband) soon come to visit...and the children need a governess, who has a saintly invalid sister..
As the characters began a discussion on the morality of allowing a game of croquet....as Bessie's arch, , brilliant quips had this reader asking "say WHAT?!" ...I knew I'd reached the end of the road.
But it's well written, I just couldnt face any more...

The story of a boy accustomed to have his own way - and who 'stole' five shillings.There is a coloured frontispiece and a handwritten inscription in this copy to Eliza Bent for attendance and conduct at All Saints Church, Sunday School, Monkwearmouth, 1889

Name CFWMaurer on bottom of cover.

Name on bottom of both copies of owner. "C. F. W. Maurer"

I only got two pages into this. It reads like fake Scots all the way. The characters all have to add random lines of faux historical speech to one another and tell one another things they already know.½

A sequel, as the title indicates, to Yonge's earlier novel The Daisy Chain. I have read it, but not recently, and as a result had some difficulty following events in the early part of The Trial. The events leading to the trial of the title do not occur until about 175 pages into the book, and the legal aspects are of little interest to the author. Her focus is the test of character provided by the outcome. The accused man's family emigrates to the United States, and we get an entertaining glimpse of life in that baffling country through Yonge's eyes. Servants there address you by your first name. The Civil War is taking place, and I was interested to see that Yonge in no way sees it as a war about slavery, and declines to take a side, although there is an implication that rebellion against lawful authority is probably a bad thing. In general, a typical CMY novel of close observation of character and small events which present significant moral challenges. Some follow-up on family members engaged in missionary work in New Zealand, one of Yonge's lifetime interests. Not one of her best novels, but full of small pleasures for those who appreciate her work.

If this is the Yonge volume, it is in poor condition but the cover does match the 1898 volume. No title page.

Stories of Daring'do. Really a fun book with tales of bravery and honor. Again one that I read many years ago and fondly remember. :)

This is a battered, bruised and heavily scribbled upon book once owned by the Staffordshire Education Committee. One wonders how many hands of children it passed through after publication by the National Society's Depository. There are many ink blots and a good catalogue at the end of the National Society publications, 'adapted to the requirements of the new code'.

This is the first historical novel by Charlotte M Yonge that I've read and it didn't disappoint. Set in pre reformation Germany, the bourgeoise dove of the title, Christina, steps into the Eagle's Nest and civilises it, thanks to having two gorgeous sons with her scarcely house trained and quickly lost husband. Blood feuds, church building, goldsmithing, bridge building and fights to the death amongst the romantic peaks of the German mountains make this a very satisfying read...

Intriguing book--Yonge blends the legend of Hercules into her 19C novel. Yonge is the author that Jo Marsh sobs over in the attic while eating apples. I never knew who this author was until this year, and I am so glad I discovered her. This is not her best novel, that one is The Heir of Redclyffe, so loved by Jo. This novel has too many similarities to the Heir of Redclyffe to satisfy me completely, but worth reading at least once if you like Yonge or 19C women's fiction. I also really like Yonge's Clever Woman of the Family.½

Classic nineteenth century story of Richard the Fearless, ancestor of William the Conqueror and son of Duke William Longsword (not of William the Conqueror as the blurb inaccurately says). Longsword is treacherous slain while Richard is only 8 years old, but he survives and eventually regains his ducal rights. I liked the story very much as a child but do not remember details now.

"I have lately taken to reading Charlotte M. Yonge. I've found much enjoyment and richness especially in The Pillars of the House, which is a very churchy one. What a wonderful length books were allowed to be in those days before the telly and all that!" (Letter to Philip Larkin, 22 June 1971.) (Pym, A very private eye. Granada, 1985. p. 368.)

"Reading Charlotte M. Yonge's The Daisy Chain and see the echoes or rather foreshadowings of Ivy Compton Burnett in it. Ivy would have made Dr May marry Meta Rivers and she would then have had an affair with Norman. Some patches of Ivy dialogue too.... It is enjoyable and very readable." (Diary, 9 November 1969.) (Pym, A very private eye. Granada, 1985. p. 364.)

Written in the mid-19th century, this is a family chronicle about the May family. In the first chapters, their mother is killed and the eldest sister crippled in a carriage accident, leaving Dr May to cope alone with his eleven children. The story focusses particularly on Ethel, a homely but academic and driven girl, who begins by helping the poor and establishing a school for them, but aspires to build a church and encourage them to follow the Bible.
Her elder brother Norman is brilliantly gifted but suffers from a sensitive and depressive nature.
Sister Flora meanwhile aspires to mix with the gentry.
With an underlying moral precept of not seeking one's own glory, the Mays encounter tragedy and joy and improve as individuals.
This is a very long book (600 pages of close type) and although I wanted to know what happened, I don't think I could have got through much more! Some of the characters were a little too unbelievably virtuous. It may be compared to a 'What Katy did' for adults - and I'm sure that Susan Coolidge's saintly invalid Cousin Helen was based on crippled sister Margaret, dispensing words of goodness from her sick-bed!½

Not one of the better CMY novels I have read. A large cast of characters: some attractive and charming but afflicted with self-destructive flaws, others dull, even sullen, but solidly trustworthy. The moral program is evident, but the reader is left finding none of them very likable. The spinster of the title owes her single state to great misjudgment of character which continues to afflict her as she spoils her weak, manipulative ward while emotionally neglecting his needy sister. I hope this was in no way a self-portrait on Miss Yonge's part. I did enjoy the small Canadian element in the plot for entirely chauvinist reasons.

A must-read for all Victorianists. What did Victorian women writers think of other Victorian writers? Oliphant on the Bronte sisters. Linton on Geroge Eliot. Lyall on Mrs. Gaskell. Sergeant on Mrs. Crowe, Mrs. Archer Clive, and Mrs. Henry Wood. Yonge on Lady Georgiana Fullerton, Mrs. Stretton, and Anne Manning. Parr on Dinak Mulock a.k.a. Mrs. Craik. Macquoid on Julia Kavanagh and Amelia Blandford Edwards. Mrs. Alexander on Mrs. Norton. Mrs. Marshall on A.L.O.E. a.k.a. Miss Tucker and Mrs. Ewing.

A plethora of themes complicate the action, but a close analysis of the different faces of marital love and parental attachment in Victorian England makes this book original and entertaining.

This has been one of the kids favorite historical fiction selections this year. The struggles of a little boy to be a good leader in the absence of his father and amidst political turmoil were definitely an intriguing story. I think they identified with him in many ways as a child trying hard to do what is right and to be kind to those who treat you poorly. I enjoyed the richness of the story and loved that the children begged me to read more but it seemed long winded sometimes. Despite that we enjoyed this book thoroughly.

This book has many of the elements of a classic Victorian novel. There's the long-suffering, nearly saintly invalid. There's a helpless widow, and there's a buffoonish curate. And most importantly, there's an independent-leaning woman whose spunk and desire for knowledge make her foolish. In Yonge's novel we enter the world of Rachel Curtis, the so-named "clever woman," who loves to read the latest tract on educational theory, and hopes some day to put them into practice for the benefit of local youth. But Rachel is also a provincial daughter, and there are few opportunities for an independent and knowledge-hungry woman in the provinces in 1865. Rachel disagrees strongly with women acting flighty and foolish for the benefit of suitors or the clergy. What Rachel values is substance, but she finds little of it in her provincial surroundings. Those around Rachel see her as arrogant and foolish. When Rachel is finally given the opportunity to put her theories into practice, the consequences are more devastating and far-reaching than anyone could have imagined. As I began this book I presumed it was a comedy of manners, but as I got deeper in, I discovered that the book is more than that. The themes are much darker, and consequences more surprising than that. Yonge has drawn some compelling characters in this novel, but there were parts of this story that fell flat. Rachel's mother is the fussiest of Victorian ladies, and we see just how limited that lives of Victorian women like Rachel were. Rachel's ultimate fate will likely not surprise most modern readers, but getting there takes twists and turns I certainly wasn't expecting.½