Alys Blakeway, Special Guest, Hampshire Writers’ Society 13th December 2022
Report by Sarah Noon
Charlotte Mary Yonge was a bestselling Victorian writer born in August 1823. She is recognised as having changed the name of Eastley, to Eastleigh – the spelling that we use today. Our speaker this evening, Alys Blakeway, chairs the Charlotte Yonge Fellowship and is talking to us about about the writer and her books.
2023 is the bicentenary of Charlotte Yonge’s birth and Alys tells us that tonight is special for her as it is the first event linked to Charlotte Yonge’s anniversary (Alys refers to Charlotte Yonge as “C.M.Y”). Other events taking place in 2023 will be based at Otterbourne Church, Hampshire Records Office, the Winchester City Museum and Winchester Cathedral. Alys also tells us that Palgrave Macmillan are publishing a book Charlotte Mary Yonge: Writing in the Victorian Age. She is hoping the University library will purchase it. There is also an event Leeds Trinity University in June as well as an event here at the University of Winchester.
Alys then goes on to talk about the writer herself. A profoundly Christian woman, CMY was born and lived all her life in Otterbourne. She never married (“…she didn’t need to…”), living off inherited wealth. Alys explains that her writing had a universal appeal “… from servants to soldiers; from priests to princesses.” Her bestseller, The Heir of Redclyffe, earned her £1000 – a considerable sum at the time. Allys tells us how Yonge gave this money away to missionaries on the Pacific Islands. Her books “… fell out of favour…” in the 20th Century due to changes in social attitudes – some perceived the tone of her writing to be somewhat “preachy.” This, says Alys, overshadowed her “…vivid characterisation and lively dialogue.”
CMY began writing in 1838 and continued writing until her death in 1901 – writing both fiction and non-fiction, historical and contemporary, for adults and children. We are reminded that this coincides almost exactly with Queen Victoria’s reign and reflects the huge changes that occurred during that period. Alys explains that due to the high quality of the writing, Yonge’s books remain “…good reads…”
Alys explains that there were two main influences on CMY’s work: her father and John Keeble. Her father was deeply religious and spent many years in the army. Keeble was Yonge’s parish priest as well as a family friend. Alys is keen to point out that these were “…influencers, not dictators.” They would read her work, offer criticism and encourage re-writing. However, her writing continued for many years after the two men had passed away.
Allys tells us that Charlotte was a “…solitary child…” and therefore began storytelling at an early age – to her imaginary family of ten boys and eleven girls! These imaginary brothers and sisters were the early formations of characters that ended up in CMY’s books. She did however, have many cousins. Alys also describes CMY as a “…a keen observer…” basing many elements of her writing on real life. She goes on to say how she would often write down conversations she had with others for reference (a transcript of one survives to this day) “… hence the unstilted dialogue.”
CMY did not need to write for money, but “… wrote because she could not help it.” However, in 1876 her brother Julian was declared bankrupt and much of her earnings went to support his family. Alys tells us that her later works are “… rather like potboilers” causing her to ponder whether this was as a result of feeling pressure of writing more in order to provide for her brother’s family.
CMY’s good characters have to struggle to overcome their faults and gain sympathy from the reader. She wrote about struggles that were close to her – for example the lack of adequate drainage in Winchester – close to where she lived. The town had no proper sewerage because people refused to pay for it. This issue forms the plot in three of her novels. She also wrote about Women’s Rights. Alys explains that as the Victorian attitudes towards education changed over the years, CMY’s did too.
Having explained a little of CMY’s life and influences, Alys ends her talk exploring CMY’s techniques as a writer. She says that CMY “…introduces human drama and adventure into many of her books for adults and children alike.” Like many other Victorian authors, her stories were serialised. Therefore, she had to create suspense in order to ensure that readers would buy the next instalment. She used adventure to do this, but then also used that adventure to develop the characters. Alys demonstrates this by reading us a passage from one her books. CMY used adventure to develop plot and character in her family sagas too (Alys gives us the example of The Daisy Chain) and gives CMY credit for showing “…clichéd characters and plots in a new light.” Several examples of established characters are given (The governess, the stepmother, the hero), all of whom have been slightly altered by CMY to provide a new perspective.
Alys ends her fascinating talk with the summary “A born writer, a surprisingly unconventional novelist, a good read and a window on the Victorian age.”
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