A BBC special correspondent recently gave his first speech as president of the Alliance of Literary Societies (ALS), at a Winchester school.

James Naughtie spoke at the event, hosted by the Charlotte M Yonge Fellowship at St. Swithun’s School last weekend.

In front of an audience drawn from across the UK, Mr Naughtie spoke about the importance of literature and its role in enabling people to understand each other across barriers. 

Celebrating its 15th birthday, the ALS had been brought to Winchester to mark the bicentenary of the birth in Otterbourne in 1823 of Charlotte M Yonge. 

A successful Victorian author with sales across the English-speaking world, Yonge had also played a large part in local life as an educator, a generous benefactor and a keen supporter of the church. 

In particular she had been a member of the founding committee of St Swithun’s – then called the Winchester High School for Girls – in 1884. 

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As well as dealing with the organisational matters of the ALS, the conference on Saturday, April 22 heard a series of lectures about Charlotte M Yonge’s life, her many novels (some of them set in Winchester) her impact across the globe, and her Victorian context. 

In particular, Judith Flanders, the author and journalist, shared an extract from her forthcoming book on Victorian deathbed scenes. 

Speaking later at the ALS’s annual dinner Alan Lovell, chairman of the Hampshire Cultural Trust, celebrated Yonge’s achievements along with those of Jane Austen as part of Hampshire’s literary legacy. 

Yonge died in Otterbourne in 1901 and an exhibition on her life is currently on display in the Winchester City Museum, operated by Hampshire Cultural Trust. 

Alys Blakeway, chairman of the Charlotte M Yonge Fellowship, said: “This event has introduced delegates from across Britain to Charlotte M Yonge and Winchester. While Winchester is already a well-known destination, this event has helped to restore Charlotte to her rightful place among British novelists.”

A joint outing between the Charlotte M Yonge Fellowship and the Hampshire Field Club to visit scenes from Yonge’s life in Otterbourne and Hursley is being held on Saturday June 24.

For more go to hantsfieldclub.org.uk/sections/localhist.html.