Ethel Turner's Seven Little Australians is a well-known work of Australian children's literature. The title's seven children reside in 1880s Sydney with their father, an army captain who lacks parental empathy, and their 20-year-old stepmother Esther, who has limited control over them. As a result, they cause trouble wherever they can, such as by interrupting their parents while they are hosting visitors and requesting part of their meal. Captain Woolcot orders Judy, the ringleader, to be sent away to boarding school in the Blue Mountains after a joke by Judy and Pip humiliates him in his military quarters. Meg attempts to enhance her beauty under the influence of an older girl named Aldith. She thinks she has a crush on one of Aldith's pals' elder brothers. Meg is uncomfortable after a note goes missing when Aldith and Meg make plans to meet the young guys for a walk. Esther's parents ask her and the kids to stay at their sheep ranch, Yarrahappini, to aid Judy's recovery. Although things appear to be unchanged, each character is slightly altered by their experience. Captain Woolcot regrets in particular that he never really comprehended Judy.
Australian novelist and author of children's books Ethel Turner was of English origin and lived from 24 January 1870 to 8 April 1958. One of the most well-known authors of children's books in Australia was Ethel Turner. She was born in England, and in 1879, when she was two years old and her father died, she moved to Australia with her family. She contributed children's pieces under the name "Dame Durden" to the Illustrated Sydney News and then to the Australian Town and Country Journal. By 28 years, she survived her daughter Jean Curlewis, who died from TB. The Ship That Never Set Sail, Drowning Maze, and Beach Beyond are some of her works (1923). Seven Little Australians (1894), her debut novel, is widely regarded as a masterpiece of Australian children's literature. She produced more than forty children's books, many of which featured the obstinate and naughty Australian Woolcot family.
