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77-487: The Abbey Series of British novels by Elsie J. Oxenham comprises 38 titles which were published between 1914 and 1959. The first title, Girls of the Hamlet Club set the scene for the school aspects of the series, but it is the second title, The Abbey Girls , that introduces The Abbey – almost a character within the series in its own right – a romantic ruin that inspires love for it as a quiet, peaceful place, and creates

154-470: A Collins 'Fat Orange' † = published as a Collins 'Seagull' ‡ = published as a Collins 'Small Red Abbey' g = reprinted in paperback by Girls Gone By Publishers e = reprinted in paperback by The EJO Society 1. Jen of the Abbey School takes place during and after the events of The Abbey Girls Go Back to School and should therefore be read immediately after it. 2. The Retrospective Titles cover

231-528: A biennial meeting at Halsway Manor in the summer, which includes folk-dancing and tours of nearby Cleeve Abbey as if it were the fictional one. These places are not always depicted in the books exactly as the real sites; Oxenham was writing fiction, and given that she could move an abbey several hundred miles for her purposes, changing a few names and telescoping or stretching distances was also well within her remit. The Australian society, The Abbey Girls of Australia , has been in existence since 1985; its motto

308-623: A bit further up the loch. Of the other two in the series, Twins of Castle Charming - perhaps Oxenham's rarest title - is set largely in Switzerland, whereas Finding Her Family has some early scenes set in Ealing and mainly takes place in Saltburn . From 2012, the EJO Society has been reprinting the titles originally published by Chambers and Muller, thanks to permission granted by EJO's niece. Girls of

385-474: A brief appearance in An Abbey Champion (1946), but the personnel are no longer named. It may have been as simple as the move to Worthing and the impossibility of maintaining as close a friendship at a distance of some sixty miles, but it has been conjectured that 'Madam' (Helen Kennedy North) and 'The Pixie' (Daisy Caroline Daking) may have objected to the way they were being portrayed. Oxenham never lost

462-462: A further two were published by her niece, who discovered the manuscripts among Oxenham's papers in the 1990s) whereas Brent-Dyer published 100 books of various kinds. Nearly forty of Oxenham's books comprise the main Abbey Series , with another thirty or so in several connecting series and the remaining twenty - some in small series of their own, and some isolated titles - having no connection with

539-504: A landmark local to the area in which the series is set, is also symbolic—as is any cross—of sacrifice. The Abbey of the series is almost a character in itself. Based on Cleeve Abbey in Somerset , it first appears as a romantic ruin in the second of the series The Abbey Girls . By the end of this book, the cousins Joan and Joy Shirley are living in Abinger Hall, in the gardens of which

616-414: A local landmark, as their badge. As the club develops, its members learn Morris and Country Dancing , and prepare a May Queen ceremony for Cicely's grandparents. The Hamlet Club comes to the rescue of the school when the leading actors in the school play come down with measles; they sacrifice their secret for the good of the school and Miriam Honor is crowned as the first Queen. The Abbey Girls (1920)

693-418: A major character, and others, Jandy Mac, Rosamund and Maidlin, can all claim the sobriquet 'Abbey Girl'. By the end of the series these six are all married with children, and the adventures of the daughters of Joan, Joy, Jandy and Jen, at the same school, have come to the fore. There was no 'Abbey School' as such, although The Girls of the Abbey School (1921) tells how the school spent a term in Abinger Hall,

770-521: A new junior at the School, Tekla (Tickles) and her amazement at the school which moves every spring from Sheffield to the moors at Rocklands and returns each autumn. Jen of the Abbey School – also considered part of the main Abbey Series , continues the story of Tekla's school career and describes how the girls of Rocklands meet Jen Robins (later Marchwood) of the Abbey Series. Rosamund's Victory continues

847-644: A telegram is brought from the post office in the nearest town by bicycle, contrasts starkly with the air crash that features in Robins in the Abbey and the car accident and BBC news bulletins of New Girls at Wood End – and with the ownership and use of the telephone in the latter two titles as a normal and common feature. A Go-Ahead Schoolgirl takes place during the World War I at Rocklands School in Yorkshire . The description of

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924-779: A writer, statements she makes about the writing experience must logically be those of Oxenham herself. She talks of "finding" the books, and of "listening in to [her own] private wireless". Some fifteen years later according to the internal chronology of the series, and nearly thirty years later in real time, Mary-Dorothy advises Rachel Ellerton, a younger writer who has been trying to get her adult fiction published, to try writing for children: ...my books are for girls, not for grown-ups, but I've felt it worth while to write them ... I’ve never dared to think I could help grown-ups; I doubt if I could even amuse or interest them. But it has seemed worth while to try to influence girls and children for good, by amusing them and catching their interest. Girls are

1001-661: A year or two by events in the real world that are mentioned in Girls of the Hamlet Club , although it is recognised that there are anachronisms in the Retrospective Series . But in The Girl Who Wouldn't Make Friends we are introduced to Robin (Robertina Brent, later Quellyn) and Gwyneth Morgan (later Lloyd) as twelve-year-olds; although the story starts in the London suburbs, most of the action takes place at 'Quellyn' and Nefyn on

1078-471: A year or two later. Collins reprinted most of the Oxenham titles that they had published in various of their publishing series, in particular the main titles in the Abbey Series which were produced in several different formats. Her other publishers did so less often, if at all, though a few titles had one or two reissues. This is why the non-Collins books are normally rarer - and consequently more expensive for

1155-486: Is 'Bound in Friendship'. It produces a magazine, The Abbey Guardian . There are official branches in several states of Australia. Regular meetings take place, and weekend 'Camps' are held every two or three years to gather people from further afield. May Queen coronations are often held as part of the meetings and camps, but book discussions and general chats are more usual in the less formal meetings. New Zealand's Society

1232-550: Is a strong influence in many of the books. From Girls of the Hamlet Club (1914) and At School with the Roundheads (1915) until The Girls of the Abbey School (1921), it was shown as a fairly easy thing for girls to do, and to teach each other. By the time of The Abbey Girls Go Back to School (1922) it is apparent that Oxenham herself had come into contact with the English Folk Dance Society and realised that

1309-618: Is also set mainly at Kentisbury. Bill and Patch as newly-weds appear in Song of the Abbey ; the scenes in which they appear are set at Kentisbury, although the main action of the book takes place at The Abbey in Oxfordshire . These characters are all mentioned in several books in the main Abbey Series published and set after Rosamund's Tuckshop . The Quellyn/Woodend Series provides an awkward problem of internal chronology within Oxenham's various book series. The main Abbey Series can be dated to within

1386-494: Is another example of how Oxenham combines series and characters, weaving in and out of the main Abbey Series. Maidlin to the Rescue was published in 1934, and tells of Maidlin's previously unknown cousins, Rachel and Damaris, and how Maidlin overcomes their resistance to being 'adopted' by her and brings them back to The Abbey . Damaris at Dorothy's , published three years later, returns to the schooldays of Rachel and Damaris and gives

1463-591: Is as well-known - perhaps more so - but did not write her books in series about the same group of characters or set in the same place or school, as did the Big Three. Oxenham's books are widely collected and there are several Appreciation Societies: in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa; with a total membership of over six hundred, some of whom live in the US, Canada, India and The Netherlands although belonging to one or more of

1540-472: Is considered by collectors of British Girls' Fiction to be one of the 'Big Three'; the other two being Elinor Brent-Dyer and Dorita Fairlie Bruce . Although Angela Brazil is the first name to come to mind for non-specialists, she did not create long series as the other three did, and in terms of collecting and interest Brazil is less popular than they are. Oxenham was not the most prolific of these three, as she had 87 titles published during her lifetime (and

1617-523: Is finding and visiting the original sites used by Oxenham in her books. As well as the Buckinghamshire / Oxfordshire area which is the background for Girls of the Hamlet Club and the village of Washford , Somerset where Cleeve Abbey is situated, Oxenham used parts of Sussex , Wales, Lancashire , the English Lake District and Scotland for the settings of several books. The UK Society holds

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1694-572: Is set in and around 'Kentisbury Castle', a fictionalised Arundel , Sussex. Rhoda and Rosalie reappear in Rosamund's Tuckshop , also set in Sussex, at Washington . Bill, Patch and Roger reappear in Secrets of Vairy . set at 'Vairy Castle', a fictionalised Knockderry Castle on Loch Long , Scotland. Tansy reappears in Rosamund's Castle , once again set at Washington and Kentisbury/Arundel, and Jandy Mac Comes Back

1771-479: Is the character Robin (Robertina) Brent. She first appears as a 12-year-old in The Girl Who Wouldn't Make Friends , an Abbey Connector published in 1909. But she reappears as a 17 to 18-year-old in three titles: Rosamund's Tuckshop (1937), Rosamund's Castle (1938) – both in the Abbey Series – and New Girls at Wood End (1957), an Abbey Connector , as well as appearing in the book that bears her name in

1848-407: Is the second title of the series, and tells of two red-headed cousins, Joan and Joy Shirley, and how, in different ways, they manage to get places at Miss Macey's School. These two characters are the original 'Abbey Girls' and the series continues with stories about them and the friends they make throughout, not only their schooldays, but also their adult lives. An early friend, Jen Robins, soon becomes

1925-554: Is thought that the Whitelands College tradition of May Queens [latterly May Monarchs, since the college became co-ed], which was inspired by John Ruskin , may in turn have inspired Oxenham, perhaps through someone she had met who had been trained at Whitelands, but no definite connection has been established. Certainly Oxenham herself did not attend the college. Oxenham was brought up in the Congregational Church (later

2002-564: The Abbey books at all. During the 1920s to the 1950s she had several short stories, and some longer serialised ones, published in Annuals such as the Girl's Own Annual , British Girl's Annual , Little Folks and Hulton's Girls' Stories . Some of these stories were connected to the books - i.e. dealt with characters from one of her books or series - others became books, or sections of books, that were published

2079-669: The English Folk Dance and Song Society [EFDSS] until much later). She then discovered how 'badly' she had been doing the dances - and teaching them! - as related in The Abbey Girls Go Back to School (published 1922). Everything that the 'Writing Person' [her on-page persona] told Maidlin, Jen and Joy, in The New Abbey Girls (published 1923), about dancing, Grey Edward, and the Camp Fire had happened as described. After

2156-587: The Llŷn Peninsula in North Wales . The next part of their story is told in Rosamund's Tuckshop and Rosamund's Castle , both in the main Abbey Series when they are seventeen or so, about five years later in 'Abbey Time', but which were published eighteen and nineteen years later respectively. These two books are set at 'Wood End School' in Washington , Sussex. Robin's romance and marriage are described in Robins in

2233-516: The United Reformed Church in England), and her beliefs and consequent philosophy of life are apparent throughout the series. Whilst she does not proselytise, her characters discuss the reasons behind good and bad happenings, and grow in their own beliefs as they do so. This allows her to give a depth to the characters that might not otherwise become apparent solely through their actions. One of

2310-519: The 'Rose sisters'. Pernel Wins and Daring Doranne tie into this series in that the characters in Pernel , Pernel Richard herself, Juliet Joyes and Gwen Baldwin come to live at 'Rainbow Corner' at the beginning of Doranne , and the village Doranne founds, also called 'Rainbows', is where the 'Roses' live, and where Margery Paine comes to make her new beginning. The Roses join the main Abbey Series in Fiddler for

2387-421: The Abbey overlaps the last of A Dancer from the Abbey . 6. N.B. Two Queens at the Abbey was only ever published as a 'Small Red Abbey'. Oxenham wrote several other series which tie in with the main Abbey Series; these are known as Abbey Connectors . Characters first used in other titles or series are introduced into the Abbey Series – sometimes stretching the internal chronology. A particular example of this

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2464-498: The Abbey , and news of the other characters is given in some of the later books in the Abbey Series. Mistress Nanciebel , published in 1910, tells the story of 'the ancestress' of Gilbert and Annamaria Seymour, and of Nancybell Morgan. Here, Oxenham has created a family history for her modern characters by using details from another of her books, published over thirty years earlier. These three sets, Sussex , Swiss and Woody Dean , are closely connected to each other, as may be seen by

2541-408: The Abbey , published in 1947, and set mainly in Oxfordshire at 'The Abbey' and at 'Quellyn', but in 1957 Oxenham returned to Robin's school career, and produced New Girls at Wood End , a book about Robin's time as Head Girl, set in the spring following Rosamund's Castle . The world of 1909, in which 'motors' can be driven across fields and through gated lanes by a twelve-year-old Gwyneth, and where

2618-468: The Abbey Series, Robins in the Abbey (1947), when she is 21. Oxenham also wrote about 20 books which have no connection at all with the Abbey Series; these are known as Non-Connectors . Oxenham depicts herself in some books in the series as 'The Writing Person', mainly in The New Abbey Girls and The Abbey Girls Again – for more information about the author herself see the article Elsie J. Oxenham . Several themes are particularly apparent throughout

2695-549: The Abbey ethos helps them find the way through to the right decision. Oxenham depicted herself directly and indirectly in several places within the Abbey series . As "The Writing Person" she is depicting herself as she was in the early 1920s, over 40 years of age and going to the folk dance classes run by the English Folk Dance Society in London . Once Mary-Dorothy Devine, first introduced in The Abbey Girls Again , becomes

2772-544: The Abbey is situated. Joy has been discovered to be the granddaughter of the late owner, Sir Antony Abinger, and the Hall is left to her, but Joan, who was not related to Sir Antony, has been left the Abbey "Because of [her] love for it, and because [her] knowledge of it was so thorough." The Abbey and its influence pervades the whole series. Characters try to live up to the precepts of the early Cistercian monks who lived there, and even when facing difficult situations abroad, find that

2849-829: The Brotherhood , are set in a fictionalised Worthing , Sussex. The third, Camp Mystery , is set at Talloires on Lake Annecy , France and introduces Cecily Brown (later Perowne). These three characters enter the Abbey Series in The Abbey Girls Play Up (once more, set mainly in Sussex ) and appear again, or are referred to, at intervals later in that series. The publication dates are interesting; Oxenham refers in Abbey Girls Play Up (1930) to events in Cecily Brown's earlier life, which were not fully described until Camp Mystery

2926-655: The Hamlet Club , Biddy's Secret , Joy's New Adventure , Rosaly's New School , Abbey Champion , Two Form Captains , Maidlin to the Rescue , Captain of the Fifth , Fiddler for the Abbey , The Junior Captain , Guardians of the Abbey , The School Without a Name , Ven at Gregory's and Rosamund's Victory , A School Camp Fire , Rachel in the Abbey , The Troubles of Tazy , The Secrets of Vairy , Elsa Puts Things Right , The School of Ups and Downs , Daring Doranne , and Patience Joan, Outsider have already been published. The UK EJO Society

3003-659: The St John's & St Mary's Schools complex where the earlier books in the Swiss Set are based, or in the nearby hostel for girls and ladies, and characters from all three sets appear in these two titles. A School Camp Fire is another of those titles that Oxenham 'revisited', to take characters and bring them into books she wrote later. Several main characters from it attend Helen Robinson's wedding in School of Ups and Downs but it has no connection otherwise, and cannot be said to form part of

3080-573: The Torch (1937), Camp Fire is always shown as a way of developing character. As Oxenham became less involved with the organisation, and came more into contact with the Girl Guides , the contrast between the two organisations and their aims are shown, and eventually the reality of the changed situation in England at the time meant that Guides were more often mentioned in her books than Camp Fire. Elsie J. Oxenham

3157-644: The Torch . Rachel and Damaris have a cameo in Two Joans in the Abbey and appear briefly in Abbey Champion as bridesmaids at Maidlin's wedding to Jock Robertson. From Guardians of the Abbey onwards, their characters are fully integrated into the main Abbey Series. Adventure for Two takes the Rainbows series in a different direction. It takes place partly concurrently with, and just after, Damaris Dances . Two sisters, Daphne and Elsa Dale, make different decisions after

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3234-646: The area has more in common with Froggatt Edge in Derbyshire, but Oxenham is well known for her 'translocation' of places to fit the story. It tells of Rena (Andrena) Mackay (later Courtney) and her friend Nancy Morrell, and their time at school. When Rena's father is killed in the War, she must find a career. The headmistress's sister, who owns Rocklands House, helps her, and another friend, Lisabel (Elisabel) Durrant (also later Courtney – they marry brothers), to become gardeners, and sends them to Swanley to train. Tickles tells of

3311-476: The back story of their relationship with Philippa (Pip) Russell, who plays a crucial part in the plot of Maidlin to the Rescue . Damaris Dances was written in response to Oxenham's publishers' wish for a 'ballet book'. Apparently it took several years and many revisions, since Oxenham was not a ballet expert. It covers the period in the main Abbey Series from just before Joy's New Adventure to just after Maidlin Bears

3388-549: The collector. Several books have more recently been reprinted by Girls Gone By Publishers , who republished a few of the early titles in the main Abbey Series . Elsie Oxenham's first book was Goblin Island , published in 1907. This was reprinted in October 2007 by Girls Gone By Publishers as a centenary edition, with all the known illustrations from every edition, a new introduction, and a full publishing history. Goblin Island became

3465-523: The dances were not so simple after all. The books written from this time for the next six years or so, until Abbey Girls Win Through (1928) depict members of the EFDS hierarchy with affection and almost reverence. It seems that something happened to spoil this relationship, as after 1930 these characters do not appear in the books, and are hardly referred to again, certainly not in such glowing terms. The EFDS makes

3542-431: The death of their aunt. Daphne continues her ballet training in London, and comes to know Damaris and take part in her ballet 'The Goose Girl'. Elsa returns to 'Hillside', near 'Sandylands' – a fictionalised Uphill , near Weston-super-Mare – to live in the cottage their aunt has left to her. The rest of the series introduces Nancybell Morgan (later Farnham), Margery Paine (later Woodburn), Gilbert and Annamaria Seymour, and

3619-405: The family had moved to Worthing, Oxenham taught folk dancing in nearby villages and schools. She tried to start another Camp Fire but that was not a success as most of the girls of the right age were already Girl Guides . At first, the family all lived at Farncombe Road, Worthing, but after their mother died the four sisters moved out, living in pairs, Elsie with Maida, and Erica with Theo. None of

3696-523: The first in the so-called Scottish Sequence of six titles, four of which are set largely in Scotland: Goblin Island itself, set on 'Loch Avie', a fictionalised Loch Lomond ; Princess in Tatters , set on 'Loch Ruel', which may be Loch Fyne ; A Holiday Queen , set at 'Morven' on what appears to be Loch Long ; and Schoolgirls and Scouts set at 'Glenleny', which also seems to be on Loch Long, but

3773-466: The first person, Jean, the narrator, says, Being an author’s daughter, of course I tried to write stories too. I knew all about father's books and helped with many of them, and I always longed to write a book of my own. When I met the Colquhouns I was writing a novel, but it was a secret even from father, for I was very shy about it. But before long my interest in the children ... grew so strong that I left

3850-508: The grown-ups of the future. They may keep something of what is put into them while they are fresh and receptive. I've believed it was more worth while to write for them than to try to write novels. This statement, from near the end of Oxenham's writing career, seems to convey Oxenham’s own writing credo. It is quoted in its entirety as one of the few insights Oxenham gives into her own reasons for writing. In her very first book, Goblin Island , published nearly fifty years earlier, and written in

3927-479: The home of Joy Shirley, which had the ruined abbey of Gracedieu in its grounds. The Abbey was based on Cleeve Abbey in Somerset – an English Heritage Property open to the public in the summer months. Oxenham 'moved' this ruin to Oxfordshire , near the Buckinghamshire border, for the plot of The Abbey Girls , to tie the cousins in with the characters from the first book, Girls of the Hamlet Club . ° = published as

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4004-471: The interests of collectors and EJO Society members is finding and visiting the original sites used by Oxenham in her books. As well as the Bucks / Oxon area and the village of Washford , Somerset where Cleeve Abbey is situated, several books are set in parts of Sussex , Wales, Lancashire , the English Lake District and Scotland. Naturally these are not always depicted exactly as their real counterparts; Oxenham

4081-409: The love of folk dancing itself, however, and always shows it as a healthy form of exercise, and a way of lifting oneself out of depression. Camp Fire plays a large part in several of Oxenham’s books published between 1917 and 1940. Oxenham was a Camp Fire Guardian when she lived in Ealing , but the attempt to form a group in Sussex failed. The Camp Fire ideals of Work, Health and Love–'Wohelo'–and

4158-503: The meaning of life and the reasons behind events. These in-depth conversations tend to appear less frequently in the later books, but even as late as 1948, in A Fiddler for the Abbey Mary-Dorothy Devine, who has become "advisor-in-chief to the clan" talks to Rosalind Kane about the biblical concept of "rain falling on the just and the unjust" and the reasons behind the occurrence of both good and bad events. Folk dancing

4235-631: The move to Sussex. One of the Camp Fire members was Margaret Bayne Todd - later Margaret, Lady Simey - who appears in Abbey Girls in Town and to whom that title was dedicated. It is thought that she was the 'original' on whom the characters of both Jenny-Wren and Littlejan were based. At some point during her time in London Oxenham joined the English Folk Dance Society (EFDS - it did not become

4312-434: The novel alone. I watched the story of Peggy Colquhoun and Somebody Else to the very end, and it seemed to me that instead of trying to write a novel I might make a story out of the things I had seen really happening. This would indicate that her own start in writing was similar; it is certainly known that she typed up the writings of her father, John Oxenham , a task later taken on by her sister Erica Dunkerley, who also used

4389-489: The period between Crisis (1928) and Mystery (1932) and wrote Peggy (1936) which fills in events concerning Rosalind's younger brother and sister, John and Gina, as well as introducing new characters Peggy and Sharly, and letting us see more of Maribel's school life. The Kentisbury Series is much more closely tied into the Abbey Series. Patch and a Pawn introduces Patricia (Patch) Paterson (later Kane), Rhoda, Geoff, Bill and Rosalie Kane, Tansy Lillico and Roger Black. It

4466-468: The period between The Girls of The Abbey School and The Abbey Girls Go Back to School , and are probably best read in that position, while remembering that this produces a few inconsistencies with books set later, but written earlier. 3. Maid of the Abbey should be read before Jandy Mac Comes Back . 4. Guardians of the Abbey is partly concurrent with A Fiddler for the Abbey , but should ideally be read after it. 5. The first chapter of The Song of

4543-471: The pseudonym Oxenham for her published writings. Oxenham's religious background was in Congregationalism . This gave a Protestant ethos to her writing and her expressed opinions. Many of her characters go through difficult periods in their lives, and their religious beliefs help them through. Several of the books written in the 1920s and 1930s, particularly, include discussions between characters as to

4620-462: The school is split into two sets, the 'real school' and the 'hamlets' who are mainly girls who have come to the school on scholarships, but live in the country hamlets, and cannot afford extras like the clubs, which set high subscriptions to keep them out. Cicely organises the outsiders into The Hamlet Club with a motto 'To be or not to be' from Shakespeare's Hamlet and the Whiteleaf Cross ,

4697-622: The school. Underlying the club’s overt activities of folk-dancing and rambles was its motto 'To be or not to be', and its badge, the Whiteleaf Cross . These were both symbols of deeper meanings. The motto, deliberately using a quote from the Shakespeare play Hamlet , is taken to mean to make the right choice, usually duty above self-interest, when it arises. Throughout the Abbey Series the various main characters come up against this choice and its consequences, and are shown growing and maturing through making difficult decisions. The badge, taken from

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4774-502: The series was that of May Queens . The Hamlet Club [formed in the first book of the series] chose, towards the end of that book, one of their number as May Queen. By the time of Abbey Girls this has become a tradition in the school of 3 years' standing, and by the end of the series, in Two Queens at the Abbey the Club is 27 years old and crowning Joy's twin daughters as the joint 28th Queen. It

4851-423: The series, reflecting Oxenham's own interests and beliefs. Oxenham was an enthusiast of folk dancing and frequently incorporated it into her work; Folk dancing is mentioned in nearly all 38 Abbey books, and the English Folk Dance Society (later the English Folk Dance and Song Society ) and its leading members are depicted in some of them, some by real name, others under nicknames. Another theme used throughout

4928-460: The sisters married, but both brothers did. Elsie died in a local nursing Home in January 1960, a few days after Erica. Oxenham is best known for her Abbey Series of 38 titles which chart the lives of the main characters from their mid-teens until their daughters reach a similar age. The Hamlet Club , formed in the first book in the series Girls of the Hamlet Club , was set up to combat snobbery in

5005-756: The societies mentioned. Elsie Jeanette Dunkerley was born in Southport , Lancashire , England, in November 1880, to an English father and a Scottish mother. Before she was 2 years old the family moved to Ealing , West London , where they lived for nearly forty years. She and her sisters went to private schools and attended Ealing Congregational Church . The six Dunkerley children in order of age were: Elsie, Marjory (Maida), Roderic, Theodora (Theo), Erica and Hugo. The family lived in five different houses during their time in Ealing and moved to Worthing , Sussex , in 1922. She took

5082-598: The story of Rena and Lisabel and describes their engagements. Lisabel, by this time married with a baby daughter, also plays a significant role in New Girls at Wood End (see the Quellyn/Woodend series above). Betty McLean, head girl of Rocklands in Tickles and Jen , comes into the main Abbey Series in Abbey Girls at Home and appears or is mentioned in many later titles in that series. The Rachel & Damaris/Rainbows Series

5159-478: The surname Oxenham as her pen name when Goblin Island was published in 1907. Her father, William Arthur Dunkerley , had used the pen-name "John Oxenham" for many years prior to this. During the London years, Elsie Oxenham became involved in the British Camp Fire Girls movement, and qualified as a Guardian - the leader of a group of Camp Fire Girls. She ran this Camp Fire Group for some 6 years, until

5236-409: The three, as well as magazines for other author interest societies, as a means of sharing them among the rest of the group. In 1995 the EJO Societies worldwide held a collection to provide a seat at Cleeve Abbey as a recognition of the inspiration that the author received by her visits to the Abbey, and her collection of photographs of the site. In summer it is usually placed against the outer wall of

5313-465: The titles they share. The village of 'Woody Dean', the setting for the Woody Dean Set , is a fictionalised Rottingdean in East Sussex, and the nearby school may be based on Roedean School . The Sussex Set takes place mainly in Pagham though it is never named, and the cathedral city mentioned in the text as 'Eldingham' must be intended as Chichester . Troubles of Tazy and Patience and her Problems both take place largely in Switzerland , either at

5390-409: The training for young girls in household tasks and cookery it provided, were integral to Oxenham's own philosophy, and underlie the plots of several books. From the Camp Fire as an integral part of a school in A School Camp Fire (1917) and The Crisis in Camp Keema (1928) to the lone Camp Fire Girl, Barbara Holt, in The Junior Captain (1923) and Maidlin becoming a Torchbearer in Maidlin Bears

5467-591: The west range to overlook the gatehouse meadow. The plaque on the seat reads: IN MEMORY OF ELSIE JEANETTE OXENHAM (1880-1960) WHOSE VISITS TO CLEEVE ABBEY INSPIRED HER ABBEY BOOKS GIVEN BY MEMBERS OF THE WORLD-WIDE ELSIE OXENHAM SOCIETIES Abbey Connectors#Quellyn The information is all gleaned from the books themselves, or from Monica Godfrey's The World of Elsie Jeanette Oxenham and Her Books . The Camp Keema Series introduces Maribel Ritchie (later Marchwood) and Rosalind Firth. The first two books in this series, Crisis in Camp Keema and Peggy and

5544-654: The wish to behave in the public-spirited tradition of the early Cistercian monks. These qualities go some way towards explaining the popularity of the series. Girls of the Hamlet Club (1914) is set in Miss Macey's school in Wycombe and in the surrounding hamlets and villages. It tells how Cicely Hobart comes to Whiteleaf to be near her maternal grandparents. She has been living in a London suburb, but will now board with an old family servant, and go to school in Wycombe. She finds that

5621-571: Was founded at about the same time as the British one; its magazine is called The Abbey Gatehouse and the motto is 'Gate Open Be' - a quote from the Abbey books . At the moment there is no web page available for the New Zealand Society. In both South Africa and North America there are groups who meet regularly, but they do not produce their own magazines. Members of the groups receive the magazines which do exist, normally each subscribing to one of

5698-445: Was founded in 1989 as a "postal meeting place" for all who collect the books of Elsie J. Oxenham and are interested in her work. Its magazine, The Abbey Chronicle , is published three times a year and contains articles about the author, her books, the real places used as settings for the books, the originals of characters within the books, and reports of meetings held by members. One of the interests of collectors and EJO Society members

5775-449: Was published in 1907. Her Abbey Series of 38 titles are her best-known and best-loved books. In her lifetime she had 87 titles published and another two have since been published by her niece, who discovered the manuscripts in the early 1990s. She is considered a major figure among girls' story writers of the first half of the twentieth century, being one of the 'Big Three' with Elinor Brent-Dyer and Dorita Fairlie Bruce . Angela Brazil

5852-500: Was published two years later. Indeed, the version of her story given in Play Up , while naturally being simplified – one cannot relate the whole plot in detail when summarising events for a new acquaintance – misses several important features which Oxenham may not have thought of until she actually came to write Camp Mystery , the book that covers these events, a year or two after writing Play Up . Then, four years later again, she returned to

5929-400: Was writing fiction, and if she could move an abbey nearly 200 miles for her purposes, surely changing a few names and telescoping or stretching distances was also well within her remit. Elsie J. Oxenham Elsie Jeanette Dunkerley (25 November 1880 – 9 January 1960), was an English girls' story writer, who took the name Oxenham as her pseudonym when her first book, Goblin Island ,

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