Ethel Turner was promoted as the Louisa May Alcott of the South. This is unsurprising, given the obvious parallels between the Woolcott family and Alcott’s creations. There’s flighty, feminine Meg March and Meg Woolcott who is also on the road to matrimony and motherhood. Jo March is the wild harum scarum child, mirrored by Judy Woolcott. Amy March’s vanity matches Nel Woolcott’s. The main difference is, of course, there is no saintly Beth figure to die in *Seven Little Australians*.

*Eight Cousins* (1875) is good, but, frankly, would not be read now if it wasn’t by the author of *Little Women*. It recounts the story of Rose, who is sent to live with her uncle and to frolic with her seven boy cousins and one girl servant Phoebe.

Mostly the book is an excuse to propose an alternative way of raising girls. Her uncle lectures Rose (and the reader) at length about the value of free play, exercise, fresh air, simple foods, unstructured education, not wearing stays, abstention from alcohol, and free dress. These ideas were a lot more controversial in the nineteenth century than in the twenty first. In fact, a lot of it reminds me of Mary Wollstonecraft’s *Vindication of the Rights of Woman* (1792) which also spends a lot of time talking about the need to educate girls as we do boys and to free them from constrictive clothes.

The battle over the constrictive clothes is still not over. Little girls get bathers that ride up while little boys wear board shorts. I saw a little girl at the pool the other day in a polyester Ariel costume in which it was impossible to walk. And teenage girls often wear clothes which make running or moving comfortably impossible. High heels, why are they even a thing that exists? Ditto shaping underwear, which is just a corset by another name.

Yet at the same time I sympathise with Rose’s aunt who tries to get her some stylish clothes. The ones her uncle provides sound like a kind of brown track suit.

Here is Rose's aunt's choice of clothes for her.

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And here is her uncle's choice.

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Surely there must be some middle ground where both style and comfort are possible?

Would anyone care to borrow my book of Louisa May Alcott's blood and thunder novellas? I will be discussing them at the end of the month.

I have been thinking about representations of female friendship. Here are a few thoughts... I’d be interested in recommendations from others.

Jane Austen’s *Sense and Sensibility* (1811) may not pass the Bechdel test* - most of the dialogue is about love and relationships and, you know, men - but it certainly is about female friendship. The love of Eleanor for Marianne is the centre of the novel. And the relationship between Lizzie and Jane in *Pride and Prejudice* (1813) is pretty cool too.

I guess I am reminded of Louisa May Alcott’s *Little Women* (1868) - Jo loves her sisters so much. There’s a line in there where she talks about wanting to marry Meg herself, to keep her in the family, which I guess is a bit creepy but in the context of the book just seems sweet. (And, indeed, the only one who does marry to get into the family is Laurie who is desperate to find a March girl who will take him in.)

*Little Women* would certainly romp home the Bechdel test as it’s essentially an all-female community which is interested in growing up and improving themselves. Ditto *Anne of Green Gables* (1908) which has the ‘kindred spirits’ of Anne and Diana.

Terry Pratchett’s *Witches* books take the Bechdel standard and toss it contemptuously aside as something far exceded. Each character is completely different and each one is completely kick ass. I particularly like the way they hand the roles of maiden, mother and hag around as they move through their lives.

Marilyn French’s *The Women’s Room* (1977) is basically all about women’s relationships, friendships. Like the blurb says, this book will change your life.

And, for another out of left field suggestion, John Marsden’s *Tomorrow When the War Began* series. Ellie Linton’s friendships with Corrie, Robyn and Fi are incredibly well drawn. She relies on them, idealises them, knows them so well, lives with them and fights by them.

So, what genres am I looking at? Not entirely sure actually. Obviously there’s tons of female-centred fiction in the genre of, say, school stories like the Chalet schools. Apparently there’s a lot of female friendships in classic girl’s stories like *Little Women* or *Anne of Green Gables* or, just thought of it, Frances Hodgson Burnett’s *A Little Princess*.

And when I get into contemporary writing, I’m all over the place. My examples don’t come from one genre. Perhaps that’s because there isn’t one genre of contemporary writing centred around female friendships?




* The Bechdel test - It has to have at least two women in it, who talk to each other, about something other than a man.

On 24 April we discuss *Little Women*.