Allison Thompson Writer

Writing on English folk dance, Elsie J. Oxenham, Jane Austen, May Day and maypole dancing, Elsie J. Oxenham and more!

  • Home
  • Jane Austen
  • Abbey Girls
  • Carolan
  • Mayday
  • Dance
  • Angela Thirkell
  • Fiction
  • Store
  • Blog
  • Contact

Abbey Girls

ag go back 2
ag new
schoolgirl jen
secrets

Flowers, May Queens, pretty girls in brightly-colored, loosely-swinging frocks dancing English folk dances on the green garth of an old Abbey, friendship, babies, and spirituality—this is the world of Elsie J. Oxenham’s Abbey Girl books, published between 1914 and 1959.These books written for girls and young women feature descriptions and appreciations of English morris, sword, and country dancing as well as homages of the founder of the English Folk Dance Society, Cecil Sharp, and his teachers.

Welcome to my “Dancing with the Abbey Girls” Project!  I am indulging myself—and hopefully you, dear Reader—by examining each of the books in reading order, which is different from publication order. Why have I undertaken this project? Partly to introduce modern folk dancers to the world of the early days, partly to help non-dancing readers of Oxenham’s novels to better understand the dances (though some have gone on to become dancers already), and mostly because it gives me great pleasure to spend time with the Abbey Girls and Elsie J. Oxenham.

ag at home
biddy
campfire
jandy

 

Read the posts! Remember that they are in reading order, with some interpolations of additional titles and commentary.

Join me in “Dancing with the Abbey Girls”

A01_Girls of the Hamlet Club

First Generation, Second Generation, Retrospective, Connectors and “Abbey Time”

A02_The Abbey Girls

A03_The Girls of the Abbey School

A04_Schooldays at the Abbey

A05_Secrets of the Abbey

A06_Stowaways in the Abbey

A07_Schoolgirl Jen at the Abbey

A08_Strangers at the Abbey

A09_Selma at the Abbey

A10_Tomboys at the Abbey

Elsie J. Oxenham, Measles, and Quarantine in the Time before Covid-19

Elsie J. Oxenham and The Two Form Captains

A11_The Abbey Girls Go Back to School

Reading and Buying the Abbey Girls Books

A12_Jen of the Abbey School

A13_The New Abbey Girls

A14_The Abbey Girls Again

A15_Abbey Girls in Town

A16_Queen of the Abbey Girls

A17_The Abbey Girls Win Through

A18_The Abbey Girls at Home

Some Musings on Elsie J, Oxenham and Her World

A19_The Abbey Girls Play Up

A20_The Abbey Girls on Trial

A21_Biddy’s Secret; A Romance of the Abbey Girls

A22_Rosamund’s Victory; A Romance of the Abbey Girls

A23_Maidlin to the Rescue; A Story of the Abbey Girls

A24_Joy’s New Adventure; A Romance of the Abbey Girls

We All Want Joy!

Cecil Sharp’s Elementary and Advanced Folk Dance Certificates, 1912

The Girl Guides’ Folk Dancer Badge

Dancing Honour and Honour Your Partner

A25_Rosamund’s Tuck Shop; A School Story

A26_Maidlin Bears the Torch

A27_Rosamund’s Castle

A28_Maid of the Abbey

A29_Jandy Mac Comes Back

Camp Fire, Part I: Origins and Influences

A30_Two Joans at the Abbey

Camp Fire, Part II: Participating in the Early Days

The Kirkby Malzeard Sword Dance and Captain of the Fifth

Camp Fire, Part III: American Series Novels for Girls

A31_An Abbey Champion

Margery Meets the Roses

A32_Robins in the Abbey

A33_A Fiddler for the Abbey

A34_Guardians of the Abbey

A35_Rachel in the Abbey

A36_A Dancer from the Abbey

Elsa Puts Things Right and The School of Ups and Downs

A37_The Song of the Abbey

What Does the May Queen at Miss Macey’s School DO, Exactly?

Pas Devant Les Domestiques!

 

 

 

Subscribe To Receive New Posts

Enter your email address to receive notifications of new posts by email.

Recent Posts

  • Angela Thirkell: August Folly, 1936
  • Angela Thirkell: Wild Strawberries, 1934
  • Angela Thirkell: The Demon in the House, 1934
  • London Lavender, Edward Verrall Lucas, and Cecil J. Sharp
  • Angela Thirkell: High Rising, 1933

Categories

  • Abbey Girls
  • Abbey Girls Blog
  • Angela Thirkell
  • Elsie J. Oxenham
  • English Folk Dance
  • May Day
  • Morris Dance
  • O'Carolan
  • Uncategorized

Archives

  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • January 2020
  • November 2019

Copyright © 2023 | Allison Thompson Blog | All Rights Reserved

 

Loading Comments...