The Daisy Chain is a TOME of a book by Charlotte Mary Yonge, clocking in at just under 800 pages! Here are some quick notes, including a brief content advisory.
Charlotte Yonge and Victorian sensibilities
Charlotte Yonge began publishing books in her thirties, setting out on an expansive writing career with more than 150 published titles. She must have wrestled significantly with expectations for women that didn’t smile on writing novels, even as she had not only the time but the desire to write so prolifically!
But those great works were nearly not published, as it was considered “unladylike” to pursue publication. A compromise pleased both Yonge’s religious family and herself: all her income would go to worthy causes. As Yonge had been encouraged to write novels to bring people to God, this remarkable compromise was everything the writer could hope for. Living a quiet life with her family, until her death, and helping her neighbors, she was mourned after her passing, though she had never married or had children of her own.
As Daisy Chain is one of Ms. Yonge’s better-known works, there are a number of summaries out in the wide world of the internet. Like many classic works, modern reader opinions range from “excellent!” to “don’t bother,” but encyclopedia.com has a well-rounded glimpse of the authoress in her society, and many readers appreciate the honest perspective of Goodreads reviews.
A content note: There are four uses of a racial term we consider insensitive today–once by a sailor relaying a tale and the rest by a minor character discouraging another character from going overseas for mission work. (The word used rhymes with “chigger,” just so we’re clear.)
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