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. ( )

"The family at Misrule" is set five years after the events of "Seven little Australians", there is a new sibliing (named Esther after her young mother) and the older children are grappling with maturity. Captain Woolcot and Esther are sent to India, and the book tells of how the children fare under the care of oldest child Meg, now twenty one. In many ways it's similar to the earlier book, but it is still extremely moving. It's also interesting to see how society has changed in the intervening 125 years, and how facing separation, illness and death was a part of children's lives in a way it has not been for us until the recent pandemic. Probably best only read if you've read the previous book (and with a box of tissues handy at the end). ( )

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. ( )

I found this delightful. Returning to the family from Seven Little Australians was an absolute joy. ( )

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.). ( )