Ethel Turner
Who was Ethel Turner?
Australian writer (1872–1958)
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Ethel Turner (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Ethel Turner, born on January 24, 1872, in Doncaster, England, and passing away on April 8, 1958, in Sydney, Australia, was an English-born Australian novelist and children's author. She's best known for her 1894 novel "Seven Little Australians," one of the most popular Australian children's books of its time, and it's never been out of print. Turner's writing brought a unique Australian flavor to children's books at a time when most youth literature in Australia came from Britain.
Turner moved to Australia with her family as a child and settled in Sydney, where she went to Sydney Girls High School. In Sydney, she pursued her literary dreams, co-editing a small literary journal called "The Parthenon" with her sister Lilian as a teenager. This early experience honed her writing and connected her with the developing literary scene in colonial Sydney in the late 1800s.
She married Herbert Curlewis, a judge, in 1896, and they had children, including Jean Curlewis, who also became a writer. Despite the demands of family life, Turner continued to write extensively throughout her life, producing novels, short stories, poetry, and diary entries over several decades. Her career spanned from the colonial era to the mid-20th century, and she remained a well-known figure in Australian literary circles.
Beyond "Seven Little Australians," Turner wrote many sequels and standalone novels for children and young adults, like "The Family at Misrule," "Little Mother Meg," and "Judy and Punch." Her stories often focused on large, lively families dealing with everyday issues, depicted with warmth and sometimes serious moral tones. Unlike much children's literature of her time, her work wasn't afraid to tackle themes of sadness and loss, adding to its lasting emotional connection with readers.
Turner kept detailed diaries for much of her life, offering historians and literary scholars valuable insights into the social and domestic life of middle-class Australia during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Her diaries, along with her published works, give a detailed view of a writer fully immersed in her craft and the world around her.
Before Fame
Ethel Turner was born in Doncaster, England, in 1872 and moved to Australia with her family as a child. After settling in Sydney, she went to Sydney Girls High School, where her academic talents became noticeable. The Sydney of her youth was a place where cultural ambition was on the rise, with local writers and editors starting to shape an Australian literary identity that was separate from the British traditions that had previously influenced the colonies.
As a teenager, Turner, along with her sister Lilian, co-founded and co-edited a small journal called The Parthenon, showcasing her early interest in literature well before she gained wide recognition. This hands-on editorial work gave her valuable experience in writing, editing, and publishing during her formative years. By the time she began writing Seven Little Australians in the early 1890s, she had spent years honing her voice and understanding what young Australian readers wanted from fiction.
Key Achievements
- Authored Seven Little Australians (1894), a landmark work in Australian children's literature that has remained continuously in print for over 130 years.
- Co-edited the literary journal The Parthenon as a teenager, demonstrating early leadership in Sydney's emerging literary culture.
- Produced a large body of work including multiple novel series, poetry, and short fiction spanning more than five decades.
- Her diaries have been recognized as valuable primary source documents for the social history of colonial and Federation-era Australia.
- Seven Little Australians has been adapted for stage, film, and television, extending her creative legacy well beyond the printed page.
Did You Know?
- 01.Seven Little Australians, published in 1894, has never gone out of print and has been adapted for stage, film, and television multiple times over more than a century.
- 02.Turner began co-editing a literary journal called The Parthenon with her sister Lilian while both were still teenagers living in Sydney.
- 03.Her daughter Jean Curlewis also became a published novelist, making the Turner-Curlewis household a notably literary one across two generations.
- 04.Turner kept diaries for much of her adult life, and these personal records are now considered important historical documents about Australian social life in the late colonial and early Federation periods.
- 05.Despite being born in Doncaster, England, Turner is claimed as a foundational figure in Australian children's literature, and Seven Little Australians is often cited as the first genuinely Australian novel for children.
Family & Personal Life
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