7/8/2006 - Seven Little Australians
This book written by Ethel Turner stands out from other children's books because the children seems to be 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 Not that the parents are horrible, but the father is somewhat stern and withdrawn - typical of many fathers even nowadays.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.
This book contains statistically improbable phrases (SIPs): roast fowl.
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