Author profile
Charlotte Yonge
1823 - 1901
Best known work
- The Heir of Redclyffe, 1853
Other well known work(s)
Genres
- Fiction - Novels
- Journalism
Nom de plume
Charlotte Mary Yonge
Social class
Middle class
Parental background
Yonge's father was a soldier from a clerical family with some landed property. Yonge was well-educated by her father, her mother and visiting scholars and seems to have had a comfortable and happy upbringing.
At publication of best known work
- Age: 30
- Marital status: Unmarried
- Number of children: 0
Physical description
Jemima (Wedderburn) Blackburn (1823-1909), a Scottish naturalist and painter, recalled Yonge "as very good looking with dark hair and fine eyes, [she] spoke pleasantly and was a little above middle height" (From the Letters of Charlotte Mary Yonge edited by Charlotte Mitchell, Ellen Jordon and Helen Schinske).
Did you know?
Yonge's first book, Le Chateau de Melville, was written in French and published when she was just fifteen. Despite her linguistic ability, Yonge lived in the same Hampshire village, Otterbourne, all of her life and travelled relatively little.
Additional information
The Charlotte Mary Yonge Fellowship website at has lots of accessible and interesting information to offer about Yonge. The letters of Charlotte Yonge (edited by Charlotte Mitchell, Ellen Jordan and Helen Schinske) can be found and offer a wonderful insight into Yonge's life and career through around 1500 letters.