Charlotte Yonge was acutely aware of the new directives for reputable historical accounts and from the start had been sensitive to the need to distinguish between legend and likely truth. Yonge later apologized for the historical preoccupations of her characters in Abbeychurch: she was 'somewhat ashamed of the exuberant outpouring of historical allusions'. The enduring popularity of The Little Duke is due mainly to Yonge's skilful interweaving of historical legend into likely scenarios, the subtle concealment of her didactic purpose in an exciting story and her straightforward language unloaded with imaginary archaic phrases. Yonge chose the term Golden in preference to Noble Deeds as 'a little more uncommon and vague – which last is a gain in a miscellaneous collection and gives a certain sense of freedom in gathering them'. The idea that Yonge should compile a book of inspiring historical stories originated with Alexander Macmillan himself, a project into which Mrs Macmillan also got drawn.