Mum is very thin and cannot do her sewing, but she says she will be better soon. Mum had to go to hospital for an operation, but we do not have the money for doctors now. The bailiffs came and took our furniture. The boys get six shillings, which is not fair.Ī bullock dray fell on Aunt Ann. I pretend I am fourteen not twelve so I get paid three shillings a week. It is a boarding house, we only have one room but Mrs Dawkins is kind, she found me a job.

Read moreĭid you get my last letter? Mum and I are not at Aunt Ann’s now, we are living with Mrs Dawkins in Grinder’s Alley. * * * *Taken and edited from the blurb for the book A Waltz for Matilda, by Jackie French.

'Banjo' Paterson and from events rooted in actual history, this is the untold story behind Australia's early years as an emerging nation. The book is also the story of others who had no vote and very little but their dreams.Drawing on the well-known poem by A.B. Then that night he makes a stand, 'You'll never catch me alive, said he.'Amongst bushfire, drought, flood and war we witness Matilda's journey towards independence. Matilda is living her dream, she has found her father and he is beginning to teach her the beauty of his bush. She finds her father, only to find that he is wanted by the troopers and he plans to go swaggie. But the land is in drought and shearers are on strike. Matilda flees the city slums after the death of her mother to search for her unknown father and his farm. It follows the adolescent years of a 12 year old girl named Matilda. 'Jackie French has a passion for history, and an enviable ability to weave the fascinating minutiae of everyday life into a good story.' - Magpies Magazine Read moreĪ Waltz for Matilda, written by the well known Australian author Jackie French is set from 1894 to 1915. Paterson and from events rooted in actual history, this is the untold story behind Australia's early years as an emerging nation. It is also the story of others who had no vote and very little but their dreams.ĭrawing on the well-known poem by A.B. Set against a backdrop of bushfire, flood, war and jubilation, this is the story of one girl's journey towards independence. In front of his terrified daughter, he makes a stand against them, defiant to the last. Her father has turned swaggie and he's wanted by the troopers. But drought grips the land, and the shearers are on strike. In 1894, twelve-year-old Matilda flees the city slums to find her unknown father and his farm. 'Once a jolly swagman camped by a BillabongĪnd he sang as he watched and waited till his Billy boiled The story behind Banjo Paterson's iconic Australian song.

A waltz for matilda series