Meet the 1800s’ most incredible Christian female author - who didn’t just tell girls to get married

Christian author Charlotte M Yonge’s book was just described as “the best Victorian novel you’ve never heard of” by a mainstream YouTuber.

When we hear the words “inspiring Christian fiction”, we often think of modern authors like Francine Rivers. But God has always taught through story, from Jesus’ parables to “The Pilgrim’s Progress” and beyond. One of my favourite writers is a novelist who was born two hundred years ago this year, and her work was a great spiritual encouragement to me as a booky teen growing up in a non-Christian household.

Charlotte Mary Yonge (1823 – 1901) led a quiet life in Hampshire, England: a life dominated by church, schools and books. She was in her teens when the Christian faith she’d been brought up in was dynamised by the influence of the clergyman who prepared her for confirmation. He was John Keble, one of the founders of the Church of England’s Oxford Movement, and a lifelong friend. From then on everything Charlotte did, and everything she published, was for God.