The Family at Misrule
1895
The Family at Misrule, published in 1895 by Australian author Ethel Turner, is a children's novel and a sequel to Seven Little Australians. The story centers on the Woolcot family, particularly the eldest sister Meg, as she navigates the challenges of sibling dynamics and the pressures of growing up in a lively household. The narrative explores themes of family, obedience, and the trials of childhood against the backdrop of 19th century Australia, highlighting the humorous yet poignant struggles of the children under their father's strict discipline.
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“None of the seven is really good, for the excellent reason that Australian children never are.””
— Ethel Turner
“and then ah God””
— Ethel Turner
“Australian girls nearly always begin to think of 'lovers and nonsense', as middlefolks call it, long before their English aged sisters do...And herein lies the chief defect of the very young Australian girl. She is like a peach; a beautiful, smooth, rich peach, that has come to ripeness, almost in a day, and that hastens to rub off the soft, delicate bloom that is its chief charm, just to show its bright, warm colouring more clearly.””
— Ethel Turner
“Quite a warm friendship had sprung up during the month between the little fair-faced girl, who looked with such serene blue eyes to a future she felt must be beautiful, and the world-worn man, who looked back to a past all blackened and unlovely by his own acts.””
— Ethel Turner
“Meg had grown older; she would never be quite so young again as she had been before that red sunset sank into her soul.There was a deeper light in her eyes; such tears as she had wept clear the sight till life becomes a thing more distinct and far-reaching.””
— Ethel Turner
