Writing on English folk dance, Elsie J. Oxenham, Jane Austen, May Day and maypole dancing, Elsie J. Oxenham and more!
Published in 1929, A18_The Abbey Girls at Home begins three weeks after the last installment ended in May of 1923 and runs through Valentine’s Day of the following year. It is a rather somber book with, if I have counted them correctly, five deaths, a serious accident, and even some mental health issues. While the Hamlet Club does hold a dance out of doors, there is not much in this installment for folk dancers.
Left: Maidlin is about to be run over! [Read more…]
The Abbey Girls Win Through was published by Collins in 1928 and is tenth in the First Generation set. It takes place “Abbey Time” between April and May of 1923,slightly overlapping its predecessor installment. For those of you who are new to this blog, we are reading these books in reading order (meaning how the stories make sense with time and the ages of the characters) which is not the same as publication order.
Some readers feel or have felt that there is too much pi-jaw [“pi” = “pious”; “jaw” = “talk”) in EJO’s novels and The Abbey Girls Win Through is one of the books that strongly exhibit this trait—for bad, if you find it didactic, or for good if you find her words comforting. Generally, in these books God is not explicitly invoked—a girl simply looks for “help” and then feels that she has found it—but here there are quite a few religious discussions. The off-stage deaths have to be understood as either part of God’s plan or the reverse, although the reverse takes us into Manichaean heresy of believing that there is an active agent of evil. [Read more…]
A16_Queen of the Abbey Girls takes place in May to November of 1922 and was published by Collins in 1926. It is a strong story with a lot of dancing in it. This installment features Jen Robins—her crowning as the Brown or Beech Queen, her romance, and her presentation to the reader as one of the real spirits of the Abbey. Throughout the rest of the series Jen will retain her bright and merry spirit and she will increasingly become a wise counselor. Queen of the Abbey Girls also features some of the dark side of Joy Shirley: her selfishness and her inability to recognize other people’s emotions. This is another of the series that addresses Faith and God.
Oxenham is now well-set in her series. She is writing for the age group that she preferred: the older teenager or young woman, typically one who must resolve a problem. [Read more…]
Published in 1925, A15_The Abbey Girls in Town begins in December 1921, Abbey Time, and concludes in May of 1922. It is the third novel in the Mary-Dorothy and Biddy Devine story arc and one that mostly resolves Mary’s “problem”—that of both unhealthy dreaminess and an over-idealization of Joy Shirley. After this installment, Biddy largely disappears, though she will get her own novel in A21_Biddy’s Secret. There are two major dance episodes in it: one at the Chelsea Polytechnic Christmas dance school, where we meet again with Cecil Sharp (“the Prophet”) and his teachers, and one of a children’s dance performance.
In 1925, Elsie J. Oxenham was forty-four and was well-established as one of the leading writers of books for girls, having published 30 books [Read more…]
Several weeks ago I wrote in general about the horrors of the Collins abridgments—here with A14_The Abbey Girls Again, we come face to face with them! The abridged version removes not only many of the folk-dance sequences, but a great deal of character development. The original version is much more coherent, if wordier. In this episode, folk dancing appears as having spiritual, moral, physical, and psychologically redemptive powers. [Read more…]
Published in 1923 and set, Abbey Time, in March through April of 1921, A13_The New Abbey Girls introduces two younger key characters: Rosamund Kane and Madalena (Maidlin) di Ravarati. These girls will support important plot arcs now that Joan Shirley has moved off-stage after her marriage. The New Abbey Girls is a strong episode and one that shows the often-difficult Joy Shirley at her best. In a very mild style, apparent only upon re-reading and thus knowledge of the future, it also starts off her romance. This installment again showcases Cecil Sharp’s folk-dance teachers, particularly “Madam/Duchess” (Helen Kennedy North) and the Pixie (Daisy Caroline Daking). There are many treats for folk-dancers below! [Read more…]
Published in 1927, A12_Jen of the Abbey School takes place immediately before and after A11_The Abbey Girls Go Back to School. Ideally you should read the first half of A11, then the first half of A12, then the second half of A11, wrapping it up with the second half of A12. Jen of the Abbey School takes place from June to December 1920, in Abbey Time. It is an important book for folk dancers as it paints a clear picture of the “folk spirit” as well as incorporating a thrilling folk dance competition. It is also an important book in the Abbey Girl world as it introduces [Read more…]
After last week’s long post, let’s catch our breath for a moment! I want to remind ourselves of what we are doing and also, if you are ready to race out and buy books by Elsie J. Oxenham, to provide A Dramatic Warning. First, while hopefully the old lags remember, new readers should know that I am blogging about EJO’s Abbey Girls books in reading order, not in publication order. We’ve gotten over the tricksy group of the Retrospective Titles, so, after next week’s post on A12_Jen of the Abbey School, RO will pretty much equal PO. Now for the Warning—there is an Abomination in EJO’s publishing world: the Children’s’ Press abridgments. [Read more…]
The current theme of this blog is an examination of Elsie J. Oxenham’s 39-book Abbey Girls series plus some Connectors, in reading order, focusing on the folk dance aspects they contain. With A11_The Abbey Girls Go Back to School, we hit the richest vein of description of Cecil Sharp and his teachers. This volume was published in 1922, and EJO may well have been planning or drafting it while she attended Sharp’s Vacation School at Cheltenham in 1920—it resonates with her now passionate involvement with English folk dance and her admiration of and attachment to Sharp and two of his teachers. If you are a folk dancer and can only read one Abbey Girl book (or wish to only read one!), this is the one to pick up. The book is dedicated thus: “To Helen Kennedy North and D.C. Daking with thanks for all they have given to me.” Helen Kennedy North (sister of Douglas Kennedy, who ran the EFDS after Sharp’s death) is found herein as “Madam” and Daisie Daking as “the Pixie.” [Read more…]
We’ve finished the Retrospective Titles and are about to plunge into the mother lode of Elsie J. Oxenham’s depiction of folk dance with next week’s title, A11_The Abbey Girls Go Back to School, but before we attend Cecil Sharp’s Vacation School in Cheltenham, we’re going to make a detour to the Swiss Alps for a “Connector” tale: The Two Form Captains. Both of these books were published in 1921. Oxenham attended the four-week school in 1920 and may well have been planning or writing both books then.
The Two Form Captains was EJO’s 21st book, and it is the introduction to the five books known as the “Swiss Set.” It is not in the Abbey series but it introduces two characters whom the Abbey Girls meet in A11. They are also referred to in other books and one shows up later, as an adult dance teacher, in A31_An Abbey Champion. The Swiss Set also intersects with the “Sussex Set” and the “Woody Dean Set.” This wandering of characters in and out of each other’s books is one of the charms of EJO’s world, just as real people connect, fade away, and reconnect. It is also one of the fun aspects for the reader—can you figure out these relationships? [Read more…]