Judy and Punch

Judy and Punch is the fourth book of the Woolcot Family series by Australian novelist Ethel Turner. It is set during the events of the first book, and relates Judy (Helen) Woolcot's experiences when she is sent to boarding school in the Blue Mountains. It was written in response to the many requests from fans of the series, and published in 1928, some twenty-six years after the earlier books. There's a bittersweet feeling to reading about Judy's exploits, knowing her ultimate fate. It may be set in the late nineteenth century, but the humour is timeless: Judy's short-lived hunger strike, her tricks and jokes and antics, her clever quips and irreverent asides all provide entertainment.

The reader could be forgiven for thinking Turner was eerily prescient some ninety years ago when Judy seems to be wishing for Google: "Footling idiots, the compilers of Encyclopaedias. Come to think of it, lots of footling idiocy in education everywhere – ought to be ways of coming by the information one wanted quick and lively – sort of press a button somewhere and get what you wanted instanter". An Aussie classic.