The Family at Misrule (Woolcots, #2) by Ethel Turner

The Family at Misrule (Woolcots, #2) Reviews

• 
  Lillian

  Not as good as the first book. There's a little more sentimentality and moralising here, taking this very much into L.M. Alcott territory. Still good though; and a must-read for anyone who enjoyed Seven Little Australians. I should probably change my rating to 3 stars, but I'm too tenderhearted, and too attached to all the characters.
• 
  Jazzy Lemon

  We once again follow the seven little Australians.
• 
  Kathleen

  Not as good as
  Seven Little Australians, but still very enjoyable. This book is more of a conventional Victorian novel (lots of moral lessons, etc.). I want to read
  Little Mother Meg now, but none of my local libraries have it and there isn't an e-book available. I'll have to keep my eye out for a reasonably priced used copy. 3 1/2 stars.
• 
  Faith

  Another enjoyable read. I just wish that Ethel Turner's books are reprinted! It's so difficult to lay hold of them.
• 
  Jordan

  I didn’t really connect with the characters, that is however I didn’t read the first book! Also I found this novel pretty boring.
• 
  J.

  I liked this story quite a bit more than Seven Little Australians, probably because the father is not in it as much. The ending doesn't seem as rushed also. A little bothering is the family's snubbing of lower class people and new money people.
• 
  Noah Melser

  Continues the story of family from seven little Australians. Focuses on the domestic drama of the family. Best when it goes into the little bit of sadness and emptiness. Mostly confined to the house with only fleeting glimpses of landscape and weather but still enjoyable.
• 
  Sam

  Lacking the emotional counterpunch of Seven Little Australians, this continuation of the Woolcots' story is nonetheless charming and I found it enjoyable as a girl and enjoyable now.
• 
  Kathryn Pulman

  I read this as part of Harlequin Books' reading challenge - a young adult book.
  
  Didn't enjoy it as much as Seven Little Australians. I found the lisping speech quite painful to read!
• 
  Marianne

  The Family at Misrule is the second of the Woolcot Family series by Australian novelist Ethel Turner. It is set five years after Seven Little Australians, so Meg is 21 and all the other children also five years older. Once again there are seven children, as Captain Woolcot and Esther have had a daughter, now referred to as Baby, but actually Esther (Essie), who is almost 3. Pip is at University, Meg is stepping out with Alan Courtney who is a newly qualified doctor, Nellie is 15 and impatient to be allowed more. Bunty is at school where he is called John, the former Baby (Winifred) is now called Poppet and The General, now 6, is called Peter or sometimes Rupert. Meg gets engaged, Pip almost gets engaged, Nellie succumbs to the flattery of unsuitable neighbours, Bunty runs away and the Captain and Esther go to India. This book was written in 1895 when standing in society was very important and a self-made man was held in contempt by the gentility, something that seems quite foreign in today’s Australia. This was a time when people used ink bottles, wrote letters and occasionally sent telegrams, travelled abroad by ship, to town by train and almost everywhere else on foot; people darned clothing and hosiery, boys ran away to sea as cabin boys, and Scarlet Fever was often fatal. There seemed to be quite a lot of snobbery at this time: the nouveau riche neighbours were avoided, referred to as “impossible”, and described as homely, uneducated, vulgar and pretentious. The lesson Turner conveys seems to be that association with the lower classes can lead to catching a potentially fatal communicable disease. Poppet is the stand-out favourite from my point of view. Not as good as the first in the series, but still enjoyable and imformative.
• 
  Lady Clementina ffinch-ffarowmore

  Continues the adventures of our “Australians” who are no longer all that little. What I like about these stories are that while they are stories of children (and rather naughty ones), they are of children who are very real and who one can identify with. For them, life is not all smooth, they have adjustment issues, face bullies, peer pressure (of the late 1800s), are rebellious teenagers (in a fairly mild sense, though), aren’t always understood by their families but come out of these situations different (better and wiser), people. The end once again tends towards the dramatic and one incident again seemed somewhat unnecessary.
• 
  Lizbet

  My great uncle had a garage full of old books that he wanted to get rid of. There was a whole set of first edition, hard-cover Ethel Turners complete with dust covers and I decided that, even if I didn't want to read them, they'd look good in my book case. They're snobbish nonsense of course, but I started reading and had to finish it. I actually think that I'd already read it. I'll have to go back and read Seven Little Australians now.
• 
  Charise

  I love these books! Other reviews have said it over moralises but I didn't find it heavy handed especially when you consider when it was written. I love that the children are not perfect, every one of them has clear flaws and they act like regular brothers and sisters.
  I always have to set aside this book for when I have a few free hours because once I start I can't stop until I've read the entire thing.
• 
  Laura Walin

  The sequel did not quite manage to catch the lightness and magical realism of the first part, but was still a very enjoyable reading. Somehow this part felt more like putting individual scenes together rather than telling a story. However, the family of seven children continues its life on the Australian countryside, parents taking six months off to India.
• 
  Georgia

  Loved this - maybe even better than the first! Read
  Seven Little Australians first though
• 
  Lisa Rich

  Another lovely story about the same family of children as in The Seven Little Australians".