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November bookclub: Dynevor Terrace

The November bookclub is scheduled for 3pm GMT on Saturday 12 November. Dynevor Terrace, published in 1857, comes immediately after The Daisy Chain and before Hopes and Fears, while it overlaps with The Young Stepmother (1861, but serialised in The Monthly Packet 1856-60). It is therefore among the group of novels of CMY’s early prime. She herself grouped it with The Heir, Heartsease, and Hopes and Fears as having ‘some sort of analogy to the four seasons’. Dynevor Terrace seems intended to represent Winter.

CMY and the death of Queen Victoria in 1901

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.)

CMYF to host ALS meeting in 2023 in Charlotte Yonge’s bicentenary year

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.

May bookclub: The Dove in the Eagle’s Nest – 14 May 2022

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?