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The Two Sides of the Shield
"The Two Sides of the Shield", by Charlotte Mary Yonge was an english novelist (1823-1901).
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1885
About the author
Charlotte Mary Yonge
814 books78 followersCharlotte Mary Yonge was an English novelist, known for her huge output, now mostly out of print.
She began writing in 1848, and published during her long life about 160 works, chiefly novels. Her first commercial success, The Heir of Redclyffe (1853), provided the funding to enable the schooner Southern Cross to be put into service on behalf of George Selwyn. Similar charitable works were done with the profits from later novels. Yonge was also a founder and editor for forty years of The Monthly Packet, a magazine (founded in 1851) with a varied readership, but targeted at British Anglican girls (in later years it was addressed to a somewhat wider readership).
Among the best known of her works are The Heir of Redclyffe, Heartsease, and The Daisy Chain. A Book of Golden Deeds is a collection of true stories of courage and self-sacrifice. She also wrote Cameos from English History, Life of John Coleridge Patteson: Missionary Bishop of the Melanesian Islands and Hannah More. Her History of Christian Names was described as "the first serious attempt at tackling the subject" and as the standard work on names in the preface to the first edition of Withycombe's The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, 1944.
Her personal example and influence on her god-daughter, Alice Mary Coleridge, played a formative role in Coleridge's zeal for women's education and thus, indirectly, led to the foundation of Abbots Bromley School for Girls.
After her death, her friend, assistant and collaborator, Christabel Coleridge, published the biographical Charlotte Mary Yonge: her Life and Letters (1903).
-Wikipedia
The Charlotte Mary Yonge Fellowship, a website with lots of information.
See Charlotte's character page for books about her.
She began writing in 1848, and published during her long life about 160 works, chiefly novels. Her first commercial success, The Heir of Redclyffe (1853), provided the funding to enable the schooner Southern Cross to be put into service on behalf of George Selwyn. Similar charitable works were done with the profits from later novels. Yonge was also a founder and editor for forty years of The Monthly Packet, a magazine (founded in 1851) with a varied readership, but targeted at British Anglican girls (in later years it was addressed to a somewhat wider readership).
Among the best known of her works are The Heir of Redclyffe, Heartsease, and The Daisy Chain. A Book of Golden Deeds is a collection of true stories of courage and self-sacrifice. She also wrote Cameos from English History, Life of John Coleridge Patteson: Missionary Bishop of the Melanesian Islands and Hannah More. Her History of Christian Names was described as "the first serious attempt at tackling the subject" and as the standard work on names in the preface to the first edition of Withycombe's The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, 1944.
Her personal example and influence on her god-daughter, Alice Mary Coleridge, played a formative role in Coleridge's zeal for women's education and thus, indirectly, led to the foundation of Abbots Bromley School for Girls.
After her death, her friend, assistant and collaborator, Christabel Coleridge, published the biographical Charlotte Mary Yonge: her Life and Letters (1903).
-Wikipedia
The Charlotte Mary Yonge Fellowship, a website with lots of information.
See Charlotte's character page for books about her.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 21, 2024
Loved this so much! I always love seeing characters we’ve met in previous books and this book is stuffed full of them. CMY has some brilliant character studies in this and quite a plot! The heroine of sorts is Dolores Mohun and CMY handles her character arch beautifully and realistically. I slightly wanted a different outcome for the end, but I think the ending CMY chose is the more fitting one. Lilias is a delight.
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August 13, 2024This was such an enjoyable read! I loved reuniting with characters from previous books, and Charlotte Mary Yonge does a masterful job with her character work. The characters are flawed and endearing. I appreciate how CMY weaves in relationships, theology, and morality into the plot without being overbearing. Her faith and love of her religion really shines through and is portrayed in a lovely way.
May 23, 2024
My fourth CMY, and I have to say that her writing continues to impress me! I absolutely loved this book, and while I’m aware from other people’s reviews and comments about some of CMY’s writing, that it can be pretty heavy-handed in its moralizing and didacticism, I so thoroughly continue to enjoy how she weaves theology, morality, orthopraxy, and the beauty of human relationships all together into a highly relatable and entertaining story!
It was so enjoyable to see characters from “Scenes and Characters” as adults—indomitable Aunt Jane, good-natured Uncle Regie, and gracious Aunt Lilias in particular. And the character of Dolores, while challenging at times, was beautifully crafted by CMY. This book is almost Dolores’s Bildungsroman—it is the making of her personhood, and how she grows from a rather spoiled and isolated girl into a wiser, more discerning, and more loving young woman. Along the way, she learns life lessons about the trustworthiness and fallibility of people, the beauty of faith, and the joy of family.
A wonderful read, made even more enjoyable by our buddy reading group headed up by Kate Howe! Thanks so much, everyone!
It was so enjoyable to see characters from “Scenes and Characters” as adults—indomitable Aunt Jane, good-natured Uncle Regie, and gracious Aunt Lilias in particular. And the character of Dolores, while challenging at times, was beautifully crafted by CMY. This book is almost Dolores’s Bildungsroman—it is the making of her personhood, and how she grows from a rather spoiled and isolated girl into a wiser, more discerning, and more loving young woman. Along the way, she learns life lessons about the trustworthiness and fallibility of people, the beauty of faith, and the joy of family.
A wonderful read, made even more enjoyable by our buddy reading group headed up by Kate Howe! Thanks so much, everyone!
October 24, 2014
Ms. Yonge brings back characters from an earlier work but the story can also stand on its own. As seems routine, the typos abound but are easily figured out. Dolores must go live with her Aunt but even the fact that she has cousins near her own age does not help her overcome her London prejudices and enjoy country life. A chance meeting with her deceased mother's step-brother leads her into his world of petty theft and crime and she must work hard to regain the trust of her family.
September 23, 2015
Very good book. Sequel to Scenes and Characters, but unlike most sequels, I prefer this one to the first. Can be read without reading the first book. Contains a good message to young readers about not prejudging people and why getting caught up in the fictional world of poorly written fiction can be detrimental. Beechcroft at Rockstone is the final book in the series but isn't as good as this one.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews