Mary Grant Bruce facts for kids
Mary Grant Bruce (born May 24, 1878 – died July 2, 1958) was a famous Australian writer for children and a journalist. Many of her 37 books were very popular in Australia and other countries, especially in the United Kingdom. She was best known for her Billabong series. These books followed the adventures of the Linton family who lived on Billabong Station in Victoria, Australia. Their adventures also took them to England and Ireland during World War I.
Mary Grant Bruce's stories helped shape how Australians saw themselves. She often wrote about the Australian Bush. Her books showed strong love for her country. They had lively descriptions of Australia's beautiful and sometimes dangerous landscapes. Her characters often spoke in a funny, everyday way, showing off the Australian love for telling stories. Her books also celebrated important Australian values. These included being independent, working hard (even for women and children), mateship (strong friendship), the ANZAC spirit (bravery and loyalty), and being welcoming to others. She often compared these "Bush values" to city or British ways of life. Her stories both celebrated and felt sad about how European settlers changed the Australian wilderness.
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Mary Grant Bruce's Life Story
Mary Grant Bruce was born in Gippsland, Victoria. Her full name was Minnie Grant Bruce. She was the fourth of five children. Her family had roots in Ireland and Wales. Her parents were Eyre Lewis Bruce and Mary Atkinson Whittakers.
After finishing school at Miss Estelle Beausire's Ladies High School, Mary worked as a secretary. Soon, she started a career as a journalist, poet, and writer for Australian magazines. In 1903, she helped create the Writer's Club. This club later joined the Lyceum Club.
Her first big success was A Little Bush Maid. It was first published as a story in the children's section of a newspaper called the Leader. This story became so popular that Mary could become a full-time writer and journalist. A Little Bush Maid was the first book in her famous Billabong series.
In 1913, Mary visited London. There, she met and got engaged to her distant cousin, Major George Evans Bruce, who was also a writer. She came back to Australia, where they got married. They had two sons, Jonathan and Patrick, and a daughter named Mary, who sadly died soon after she was born.
When World War I began, Mary stayed in County Cork, Ireland, while her husband served in the war. Her 1916 novel Jim and Wally was one of the first books to describe Australian soldiers facing gas attacks during the war.
After the war ended, they returned to Australia. For a short time, Mary worked as the editor of a magazine called Women's World. From 1927 to 1939, Mary, her husband, and their son Jonathan traveled in Europe. This was after their younger son died in a shooting accident. After their travels, they returned to Australia again.
During World War II, Mary Grant Bruce worked for the Australian Imperial Force Women's Association. Her husband passed away in 1949. After his death, Mary moved back to England for the last time. She spent the rest of her life there. She died in Bexhill and was cremated in Hastings.
Maurice Saxby, a well-known expert on Australian Children's Literature, once said: "What Ethel Turner did for the city family, Mary Grant Bruce did for the bush family." This means both writers were very important for showing different sides of Australian life in their books.
There's a cool story about her books too! An English designer of warplanes was worried that Australian pilots might be too tall for the plane cockpits. He asked his daughter for the heights of Mary Grant Bruce's characters, Jim Linton and Wally Meadows, from her books!
Mary Grant Bruce's Journalism Work
Mary Grant Bruce wrote for many different magazines. Some of these included Blackwood's Magazine, the Morning Post, the Daily Mail, Windsor Magazine, Cassell's Magazine, the Strand, The Argus (Melbourne ), The Melbourne Age, The Melbourne Herald, the Australasian, the Leader, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Sydney Mail, the Lone Hand, the Auckland Weekly Press, Woman's World, the West Australian, and the British Australasian. She once said she wrote about every topic except fashion! Mary also edited Woman's World for six months in 1926.
Mary Grant Bruce's Books
The Billabong Series
These popular books were published by Ward, Lock & Co. in London and Melbourne.
- A Little Bush Maid (1910)
- Mates at Billabong (1912)
- Norah of Billabong (1913)
- From Billabong to London (1914)
- Jim and Wally (1915)
- Captain Jim (1916)
- Back to Billabong (1919)
- Billabong's Daughter (1924)
- Billabong Adventurers (1928)
- Bill of Billabong (1933)
- Billabong's Luck (1931)
- Wings Above Billabong (1935)
- Billabong Gold (1937)
- Son of Billabong (1939)
- Billabong Riders (1942)
Other Popular Works
- Glen Eyre (1912)
- Timothy in Bushland (1912)
- Grays Hollow (1914)
- Possum (1917)
- Dick (1918)
- Dick Lester of Kurrajong (1920)
- Rossiters Farm (1920)
- The Cousin from Town (1922)
- Stone Axe of Burkamuka (1922)
- The Twins of Emu Plains (1923)
- House of the Eagle (1925)
- Hugh Standford's Luck (1925)
- Robin (1926)
- Tower Rooms (1926)
- Anderson's Jo (1927)
- Golden Fiddles (1928)
- The Happy Traveller (1929)
- Road to Adventure (1932)
- Seahawk (1934)
- Circus Ring (1936)
- Told By Peter (1938)
- Peter & Co (1940)
- Karalta (1941)
- Peculiar Honeymoon (1986)
The book Golden Fiddles was made into a TV miniseries by the South Australian Film Corporation in 1991.
Peter & Co was one of four books chosen by Australian children's author John Marsden for a special collection called John Marsden presents Australian Children's classics.
