Yonge, Charlotte

Definition

Charlotte M. Yonge (1823–1901) was a successful and prolific author who published well over a hundred books in her lifetime. She is perhaps best remembered now for her runaway bestseller, The Heir of Redclyffe (1853), and for “family chronicles” such as The Daisy Chain (1856) and The Pillars of the House (1872), which continued to be popular with younger readers well into the twentieth century. In addition to realist domestic fiction with a contemporary setting, she also published historical novels, biographies, devotional works, and a large number of educational books. For 40 years she edited and supplied much of the copy for a High Church periodical aimed at girls and young women, The Monthly Packet, in which she serialized many of her own novels. A devout Anglican, Yonge is strongly associated with the Tractarian Movement, of which her parish priest and close friend, John Keble, was a leading proponent. Her work is deeply imbued with her religious beliefs, and this may...