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Our Australian Girl - Letty #2
Letty and the Stranger's Lace
Letty's journey continues in this, the second of exciting four books about a free-settler girl in a far-off land.
Letty and Lavinia have arrived in Sydney as free settlers. They've made the long ship's journey from England, but with no friends, no family, no jobs and only a hope chest between them, how will they survive so far from home? When Lavinia gets a job in the posh end of town, Letty is left alone, feeling sad and worthless. But a series of events leads her to a mysterious stranger who helps Letty realise that she is not as useless as she fears...
Letty and Lavinia have arrived in Sydney as free settlers. They've made the long ship's journey from England, but with no friends, no family, no jobs and only a hope chest between them, how will they survive so far from home? When Lavinia gets a job in the posh end of town, Letty is left alone, feeling sad and worthless. But a series of events leads her to a mysterious stranger who helps Letty realise that she is not as useless as she fears...
132 pages, Paperback
First published April 27, 2011
2 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
About the author
Alison Lloyd
16 books10 followersAlison Lloyd is an Australian writer. She writes both fiction and non-fiction -- new words about old worlds.
Alison has had ten books for children published, several of which have won national prizes or been shortlisted.
Alison now writes women's historical fiction with elements of romance, adventure, warmth and wit.
You can find her online, and get her newsletter, at https://alisonlloydauthor.com/ .
Alison Lloyd's site for kids is www.alisonlloyd.com.au
Alison has had ten books for children published, several of which have won national prizes or been shortlisted.
Alison now writes women's historical fiction with elements of romance, adventure, warmth and wit.
You can find her online, and get her newsletter, at https://alisonlloydauthor.com/ .
Alison Lloyd's site for kids is www.alisonlloyd.com.au
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 4, 2011
It's 1841, and Letty and her older sister Lavinia have just arrived in Sydney, Australia after a long sea voyage from England. Nothing has gone as planned - Letty was not supposed to be on the ship in the first place, and Lavinia's job in Sydney has fallen through. Now they must stay in a boardinghouse for single female immigrants while they try to find jobs.
Lavinia finds a job working as a servant in a grand house, but nobody seems to want Letty, because she is young and not as pretty as her older sister. Her only friend besides her sister was Abner, a young sailor on the ship, and now that the ship is leaving Letty will probably never see him again. Letty feels alone and rejected. Can Letty adjust to life in Sydney and find a job and a home?
This is the second of four books about Letty from the Our Australian Girl series, which is similar to the American Girls series. I wouldn't suggest reading these out of order, they are one story and meant to be read in order. I enjoyed this book and it was nice to see Letty being less passive and gullible compared to the first book. And as an American, I have really enjoyed learning about Australian history from the books in this series.
Lavinia finds a job working as a servant in a grand house, but nobody seems to want Letty, because she is young and not as pretty as her older sister. Her only friend besides her sister was Abner, a young sailor on the ship, and now that the ship is leaving Letty will probably never see him again. Letty feels alone and rejected. Can Letty adjust to life in Sydney and find a job and a home?
This is the second of four books about Letty from the Our Australian Girl series, which is similar to the American Girls series. I wouldn't suggest reading these out of order, they are one story and meant to be read in order. I enjoyed this book and it was nice to see Letty being less passive and gullible compared to the first book. And as an American, I have really enjoyed learning about Australian history from the books in this series.
June 23, 2011
Really enjoyed this book, it was great reading of a past era. How tough kids did it in those days. Would be good for kids to read this to teach them history in an interesting way.
December 12, 2017
This is a fantastic childrens historical fiction series I am reading to my 9yo daughter. We are both loving these stories and hooked on finding out what happens next for the characters.
Letty and her sister have arrived in Sydney and are trying to find their place in this new country. They are able to stay at the immigrants home set up by Caroline Chisholm. Letitia quickly finds a place as a seamstress in a fine home but Letty is not welcome and has to find her own way.
This part of the story had me doing plenty of googling and showing my daughter pics of the fabulous Rocks district in Sydney and also about Caroline Chisholm whose contribution to Australia I knew nothing more of than she used to be on the $5 note. So this book was entertaining and informative for us both.
Letty and her sister have arrived in Sydney and are trying to find their place in this new country. They are able to stay at the immigrants home set up by Caroline Chisholm. Letitia quickly finds a place as a seamstress in a fine home but Letty is not welcome and has to find her own way.
This part of the story had me doing plenty of googling and showing my daughter pics of the fabulous Rocks district in Sydney and also about Caroline Chisholm whose contribution to Australia I knew nothing more of than she used to be on the $5 note. So this book was entertaining and informative for us both.
May 11, 2019
I think this is a beautiful book and I feel sorry for Marry. I hope Letty feels she is useful now.
I am really exited about reading book 3. I would recommend this book to 9-10 year olds. This book really hooked me in.
I am really exited about reading book 3. I would recommend this book to 9-10 year olds. This book really hooked me in.
March 21, 2019
I wrote the review on my instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/BvP1zeUAS...
May 19, 2021
Working my way through all the Our Australian Girl books for the fourth time now as I read them aloud to my youngest son as part of his Australian History unit study!
March 28, 2012
I loved this second Letty book, and liked Letty herself a lot more than in the first :) Now she and her sister have landed in Sydney and are looking for a place to stay, and they end up at Caroline Chisholm's Home for Female Immigrants - a lovely piece of historical detail there! Lavinia manages to impress a potential employer, but sadly they won't take Letty too... so Letty answers for Lavinia and says she'll be happy to go alone! At least Letty still has a roof over her head, and she ends up spending most of her time with George the baker, and his "strange" sister Mary...
Ooh, the part where evil Mrs. Hutch was pretending not to know Lavinia at the dinner party, and making disparaging remarks about her - that made me so mad! I hope she returns in later books to get her comeuppance. *shakes fist*
Also, how utterly adorable is the little girl on the cover?!
Ooh, the part where evil Mrs. Hutch was pretending not to know Lavinia at the dinner party, and making disparaging remarks about her - that made me so mad! I hope she returns in later books to get her comeuppance. *shakes fist*
Also, how utterly adorable is the little girl on the cover?!
April 27, 2018
Second in the series continues right from end of book one and sees Letty make her way in Sydney through happenstance and has some things to say about mental health and pregnancy but at a fairly shallow level.
Has the real person Caroline Chisholm featured.
Good but nothing memorable.
Has the real person Caroline Chisholm featured.
Good but nothing memorable.
August 8, 2012
Quite good, but definitely not me favourite one. I confess I really liked Mary, though.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews