 Cover of the 16th edition, 1912, publisher Ward Lock & Co, illustrations by J. Macfarlane | |
| Author | Ethel Turner |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's literature |
| Publisher | Ward, Lock and Bowden |
Publication date | 1894 |
| Publication place | Australia |
| Media type | Print (hard~ & paperback) |
| Pages | 240 pp |
| ISBN | 0-554-31409-6 |
| Followed by | The Family at Misrule |
Seven Little Australians is a classic Australian children's literature novel by Ethel Turner, published in 1894. Set mainly in Sydney in the 1880s, it relates the adventures of the seven mischievous Woolcot children, their stern army father Captain Woolcot, and faithful young stepmother Esther.
Turner wrote the novel in 1893 while living at Inglewood in what was then rural Lindfield (now Woodlands, Killara, New South Wales), having moved there from the inner city suburb of Paddington in 1891. The suburban bushland surroundings quickly became important in Turner's stories. On her 21st birthday, Ethel wrote in her diary, 'Seven L. Aust. – sketched it out.' (24 January 1893)[1] In 1994, the novel was the only book by an Australian author to have been continuously in print for 100 years.[2] The book's original handwritten manuscript is held by the State Library of NSW.[1] The full text of the manuscript has been digitized and can be viewed on the Library's website. The original title of the novel, as written by Turner, was 'Seven Pickles'.[3]
It has been extensively adapted for other media, including as a film, two different television mini-series, various stage plays and a stage musical.
- ^ a b "Artists – Ethel Turner". Discover Collections. State Library of NSW. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
1939NFSAwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Turner, Ethel, 1870–1958". Manuscripts, Oral History and Pictures catalogue. State Library of NSW. Retrieved 20 February 2013.