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Archives for May 2020

A09_Selma at the Abbey

May 31, 2020 By allisonmthompson Leave a Comment

selma 3

Published in 1952, A09_Selma at the Abbey takes place from September 1918 through May 1919 in Abbey Time.  It starts two months after the activities of Strangers at the Abbey, and is a much better story, with a nice romance and a happy ending. It is also one that first introduces to the Abbey world a Swedish sea captain. Elsie J. Oxenham had a weird fascination with both Sweden and with sea captains—Stella Waring and Sheila Ray note that she had an elevated and inaccurate view of the social standing of the latter! Selma’s father was a Swedish sea captain—a double benefit! In a future post [Read more…]

Filed Under: Abbey Girls, Elsie J. Oxenham, English Folk Dance, Uncategorized Tagged With: Haste to the Wedding

A08_Strangers at the Abbey

May 17, 2020 By allisonmthompson Leave a Comment

strangersThis installment runs from May through August 1918, “Abbey Time” (which is calculated based on the characters’ ages and which May Queen is ruling), but it contains physical elements, such as transatlantic commercial air travel and ballet, more suitable to 1951, which is when the book was published. I didn’t notice this uneasy interpolation when I read Strangers at the Abbey out of order, but when we return to the installments published in the 1920s, we will return to a world where motor cars were open, where phones in houses were known but rare, and where women automatically gave up their jobs upon marriage. Strangers is also an installment in which the Abbey Girls and their seventy-one-year old creator wax eloquent [Read more…]

Filed Under: Abbey Girls, Elsie J. Oxenham, English Folk Dance, Uncategorized Tagged With: Cecil Sharp, Hunsdon House, Morris Dance, Roman soldiers, Scottish dance, singing games, The Old Mole

A07_Schoolgirl Jen at the Abbey

May 10, 2020 By allisonmthompson Leave a Comment

schoolgirl jen

Published by Collins in 1950, the same year as A34_Guardians of the Abbey, this is the fourth of the Retrospective titles and carries on with the exploits of young Jen Robins, one of the most popular of the Abbey Girl characters. In “Abbey Time,” the story takes place in July through September of 1917, beginning a few weeks after A06_Stowaways in the Abbey, ends. The latter installment was published in 1940; it is amazing [Read more…]

Filed Under: Abbey Girls, Elsie J. Oxenham Tagged With: Abbey Girls, Elsie J. Oxenham

A06_Stowaways in the Abbey

May 3, 2020 By allisonmthompson Leave a Comment

stowaways 1

Published in 1940, A06_Stowaways in the Abbey is set in June and July of 1917, about three weeks after the prior installment. Like other titles in the Retrospective group, Stowaways reveals more about the story of lay-brother Ambrose and his Lady Jehane. This installment also shows us Jack’s good sense, Joan’s wiseness, Joy’s rather selfish impetuousness, and Jen’s innate [Read more…]

Filed Under: Abbey Girls, Elsie J. Oxenham, English Folk Dance, Morris Dance Tagged With: Cecil Sharp, Hey Boys Up Go We, Kinora films

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