A week after the Queen’s death, Charlotte M. Yonge reflected on the state of deep mourning that prevailed throughout the country: “I suppose Torquay is one mass of black, and everyone telling of having been the last to get some thing needful. It is altogether solemn and beautiful the fit close of the life.” (Letter of 29 January 1901, to her friend Christabel Coleridge, who lived at Torquay.)
The August bookclub is scheduled for 3pm BST on 13 August 2022.
The Alliance of Literary Societies is an umbrella organisation for more than 120 literary societies. Its AGM is organised by a different member society each year. Next year – Charlotte M. Yonge’s bicentenary! – the CMYF itself will be the host organisation, and the venue is Winchester. The weekend will include an all-day session with talks and entertainment at St Swithun’s School (an institution with strong CMY links), dinner in the Cathedral complex, and outings to places of interest on the following day. Put the date in your diary: 22–23 April 2023. More information will follow soon.
The next book group on The Dove in the Eagle’s Nest will be at 3.00 BST on Saturday 14th May. This is our historical novel for 2022. Published in 1866, following serialization in Macmillan’s Magazine in 1865, it was one of CMY’s first books for Macmillan, and her first historical fiction for adults. We might look at the following questions: (1) How would you rate the Dove among CMY’s historical novels? (2) Would the story have worked in a Scottish setting? (3) Is the German background off-putting? (4) Was it a mistake to bring Christina’s husband back from the dead? (5) We know that CMY gave Christina the surname Sorel because that was the name in which she had the original dream. This obliged her to give the Sorel family a Walloon background – does this add anything to the story? (6) Would you recommend the Dove to anyone as an introduction to CMY?