Those who read '"Seven Little Australians" and "The Family at Misrule," by Ethel Turner (Mrs. H. R. Curlewis) will be delighted with her latest book,"'Little Mother Meg." It is a sequel to the other two, and, if there are degrees of com- parison, is even more attractive than its predecessors. The pathos of the story is cleverly set off with fine touches of humour, and exquisite accounts, of the doings of the younger members of the House of Misrule. Meg's husband has lost his private income through the failure of a mine, and was obliged to throw up his position in the hospital owing to an affection of the eyes. He visits Heidelberg, where a specialist cures him, and returns, to work up a practise, with a debt of £600 to work off. His patients increase very slowly, and he and Meg have to practise all sorts of devices in the pursuit of economy, but their little baby boy sweetens the hard struggle against adverse circumstances. A turn in the wheel of fortune came when the doctor cured the daughter of a rich squatter from Queensland. The little girl had lost her reason some years before, owing to a fall from a horse. One day she wandered Into the paddocks at Misrule, and set fire to a heap of leaves. The fire caught her dress, and she was badly burnt. The shock seemed to undo the mischief which had, been caused by the fall from the horse, and, under the skilful care of Meg's husband, she is eventually restored to health, both in mind and body. The love affairs of Nellie, who is now some 18 years of age, make the romantic parts of the book, and are very naturally woven into the story. In the end she becomes engaged to Edward Twynam, a recent arrival from England. The story is delightfully told, and the characters are so life-like that one reaches the end with a sigh of regret, as for a departing friend. It is to be hoped that the author will soon add another sequel to the present series, which has delighted thousands of readers. The book is published by Messrs. Ward, Lock, and Company, and comes to us from Mr. E. W. Cole, Sydney and Melbourne.
First published in The Australian Town and Country Journal, 5 November 1902
[Thanks to the National Library of Australia's newspaper digitisation project for this piece.]
