Seven Little Australians

Old but good:
My copy of this book belonged first to my grandmother (born in 1888 I think), and then my mother and aunt. I loved it as a child (in the sixties), and love it still - although it has a VERY sad ending that still makes me cry. Reading the extract from Chapters 1 and 2 will give you a good idea of the writing quality, so I'll say little of that. As a child I though it was a child's book, but as an adult I've come to the conclusion that it was probably written as a book for "young ladies". My grandmother was in her late teens when she was given it, which backs up my theory. What makes it stand out from children's books of the era is that the children really are just like ordinary kids, getting into all sorts of mischief, but no morals are drawn. At least not overtly, and those that CAN be drawn are more along the lines of "this is what can happen when you stifle your children's originality and natural exuberance" than the more usual "this is what happens to naughty children". Not that the parents are horrible, but the father is somewhat stern and withdrawn - typical of many fathers even nowadays. He features mostly as someone who gets angry at the children's mischief, or who has to be applied to for funds. The stepmother is just lovely, although you get the feeling that the father married her more because he needed someone to look after his kids and satisfy his lusts (just because she's young and pretty, lusts are not mentioned in the book) than because they were in love. But then as far as I can see love didn't really come into marriage much in those days. The What Katy Did books are the closest American comparison I can think of, but they are very goody-two-shoes-ish and moralistic compared with Seven Little Australians. This book is what made me realise, as a child, that children born "in the olden days" were just like we were. In general, this is a jolly good book. Get it, you'll love it. (But make sure a hanky is at hand when you get close to the end).