 Charlotte
Yonge
English Novelist and Historian
By Patricia Chadwick
patti@historyswomen.com
Charlotte Yonge has been a most
prolific writer, having published over one
hundred and twenty-five volumes of fiction and a
large number of national histories for younger
readers. Her work included schoolbooks,
religious texts, historical novels, and tales of
everyday life. She was an ardent supporter of
high-church views, which is apparent in all her
works. Although she wrote profusely, she always
maintained high quality in all her work
While many authors achieve fame
after their death, Charlotte achieved great
success during her lifetime. During her lifetime
she was very popular and her books were read and
admired by other great authors such as Louisa
May Alcott, Lord Tennyson, Lewis Carroll, and
many others. She gained a wide circle of readers
by her book 'The Heir of Redclyffe', which
appeared in 1853. A large part of the early
profits from this book were used to outfit the
missionary schooner, 'Southern Cross' for Bishop
Selwyn. She used the part of the profits from
her book 'Daisy Chain' to help build a
missionary college in New Zealand. She also
wrote many works of fiction including, 'Lances
of Lynwood', 'Scenes from the Life of a
Spinster', and 'Clever Woman of the Family'.
Charlotte's historical works
included Greece, Rome, France, Germany, England,
and the United States. She also wrote such books
as 'History of Christian names and their
Derivation' and 'Story of English Missionary
Workers'. Several of her histories were
rewritten so that they could be read and enjoyed
by the small children, such as 'Aunt Charlotte's
Roman History for the Little Ones'.
Since most of Yonge's fiction
work reflected everyday life during the
Victorian era, we see in them the introduction
of the education of women and their status in
the community. Charlotte was homeschooled by her
parents and remained a staunch supporter of
educating women at home throughout her career.
Even though there was a marked increase of women
receiving a high school education and an
increasing number of women's colleges being
founded, Charlotte always felt that the best
education for young women was Home Education.
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This article was an excerpt from
HISTORY'S WOMEN - THE
UNSUNG HEROINES by Patricia
Chadwick. You can purchase this
book for $15.95, which includes
shipping, at
www.historyswomen.com
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