CMP Review 2026-03-19

March 19, 2026

On Tuesday we shared Agnes Drury’s wonderful 1927 article on handicrafts. I have always been a fan of Miss Drury, and I appreciate Essex Cholmondeley’s assessment that Drury “was whole-heartedly faithful to the teaching of Charlotte Mason.”

In 1916 when Charlotte Mason first uttered the words “I can only point to the unusual results we obtain through adhering not ‘more or less,’ but strictly to the principles and practices I have indicated,” she had a co-presenter with her. Charlotte Mason spoke on the principles. And Agnes Drury spoke on the practices.

Agnes Drury is a name I can trust.

That’s why I was so struck by a letter Drury wrote to the editor of the Parents’ Review (also in 1927), four years after Mason’s death. It’s a letter that challenged me and I quoted from it in my 2025 presentation entitled “Trusting the Method.”

What does it mean to be faithful to the teaching of Charlotte Mason in 1927? How about 2027? We’ve transcribed her whole letter so you can read it now here.

@artmiddlekauff