Seven Little Australians

By Ethel Turner

Ethel Turner (1872 -1958) was an Australian novelist and children's writer. She started her writing career at eighteen with her sister Lillian, with whom she founded the Parthenon, a journal for young people. Originally published in 1894. Seven Little Australians gives an authentic taste of Australian childhood in the Sydney of the 1890s. Captain Woolcot strains to uphold his standards of decency while his spirited, assertive daughter resists them. The alliances among his children heightens the battle, yet tightens family bonds. The sequels The Family at Misrule (1895) and Little Mother Meg (1902) deal with the lives of the Woolcot family, particularly with its seven mischievous and rebellious children.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Start Classics
• Release date: Nov 1, 2013
• ISBN: 9781627937559

Reviews for Seven Little Australians

[elwen_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read this book when I was a kid and I have very good memories of it. It was charming and full of adventures that made me laugh and even cry, something which has proven to be quite difficult for me afterwards. So I highly recommend it.

[thewasp_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A childrens book written in 1894 by the 24 year old Ethel Turner and set in Australia. I purchased my 2005 National Library of Australia edition at the Murwillumbah Art Gallery which held an exhibition of John Lennox's wonderful paintings used as illustrations for this edition.The story is about the 7 Woolcot children who, we are warned by the author ," not one of the seven is really good, for the very excellent reason that Australian children never are."Although there are a number of "pranks" in this book it also has a very serious side and deals very compassionately with some of the sadder parts of the storyline. Certainly a book that can be appreciated by adults.

[figgles_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Australian children's classic is just as readable now as it was when published in 1894. I first read it after the ABC TV series and have re-read it many times since. It still makes me laugh and makes me cry. If you've not read this one then it's time to get a copy. (This time I read a free e-book version on the plane home from NSW using the iPad Kobo app so there's no excuse for not reading it).

[vietnambutterfly · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

How I missed reading this earlier I do not know. I happened across this beautifully illustrated centennial edition and thoroughly enjoyed reading of the trials and tributations of Meg, Pip, Judy, Nellie, Bunty,Baby and The General along with their officious father Captain Woolcot and his new wife Esther at thier property Misrule and latter Esther's parents' property Yarrahappini where the ultimate sacrifice of Judy takes place. A sequence that brought tears. A beautiful read that stands the test of time

[seldombites · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Seven Little Australians is a charming Australian children's classic that is just as appealing to adults as it is to children. It is refreshing to read a book that doesn't moralise the way many children's books of the era did. This is an entertaining and uniquely Australian story, with a highly unexpected ending, and it deserves a place in everyone's reading list.

[francescadefreitas · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a delightful story of a large family growing up in Sydney in the 1880s. It reminded me of Eight Cousin's, I think any fan of L.M. Alcott, or E. Nesbit's The Railway Children will enjoy this book.(spoiler)(big spoiler)I am traumatised by the ending. Four pages of XXX terrified and dying, and the rest of them gathered around helpless. And I cannot get my hands on any of the promised sequels. Arg!