Charlotte M. Yonge's 'Cameos from English History' is an engaging and informative collection of historical stories that young readers will love. Instead of a typical chronological history, this book provides readers with a series of "gems in full relief," or individual stories, that capture the essence of important events and people in English history. From Rollo to Edward II, the book covers the history of the Norman race of sovereigns, with each story presented in a way that is both detailed and memorable. Whether it's the battle of Hastings, the third crusade, or the constitution of Clarendon, each story is presented in a compelling and informative way that is sure to capture young readers' imaginations.

Beginning with the premise that women's perceptions of manliness are crucial to its construction, The author focuses on the life and writings of Charlotte Yonge as a prism for understanding the formulation of masculinities in the Victorian period. Yonge was a prolific writer whose bestselling fiction and extensive journalism enjoyed a wide readership. The author situates Yonge's work in the context of her family connections with the army, showing that an interlocking of worldly and spiritual warfare was fundamental to Yonge's outlook. For Yonge, all good Christians are soldiers, and Walton argues persuasively that the medievalised discourse of sanctified violence executed by upright moral men that is often connected with late nineteenth-century Imperialism began earlier in the century, and that Yonge's work was one major strand that gave it substance. Of significance, Yonge also endorsed missionary work, which she viewed as an extension of a father's duties in the neighborhood and which was closely allied to a vigorous promotion of refashioned Tory paternalism. The author's study is rich in historical context, including Yonge's connections with the Tractarians, the effects of industrialization, and Britain's Imperial enterprises. Informed by extensive archival scholarship, Walton offers important insights into the contradictory messages about manhood current in the mid-nineteenth century through the works of a major but undervalued Victorian author.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1883.