| Playing Beatie Bow | |
|---|---|
First Puffin edition, 1982 |
|
| Author(s) | Ruth Park |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Children's novel |
| Publisher | Thomas Nelson (1980) and Puffin Books (1982) |
| Publication date | 1980 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 196 |
Playing Beatie Bow is an Australian children's book written by Ruth Park and first published on the 31/1/1982.[1]
The story is set in Australia and is about a girl named Abigail (formerly Lynette) who travels back in time to colonial Sydney-Town in the year 1873, where she meets Beatie Bow, a girl whose name has become part of Abigail's local folklore. Much of the book is set in real-life locations around Sydney's historical Rocks district.
Playing Beatie Bow has been a part of the NSW and Tasmanian Primary School syllabus on and off since its publication. It has since been turned into a movie, where Abigail is played by Imogen Annesley & Judah by Peter Phelps.[2] The novel won the Children's Book Council of Australia's Book of the Year in 1981.[3]
Lynette Kirk was a happy young girl, cheery about her parents and life, until the day her father leaves her and her mother Kathy for another woman. Lynette wants to distance herself from the life they shared with her father, so she changes her name to Abigail.
Lynette goes down to the park with her young next door neighbours Natalie and Vincent, finding them playing a game called 'Beatie Bow'. After becoming very interested in a little girl that stands there watching them play ("Little Furry Girl") she decides to follow her. When Abigail's mother admits that she has been seeing her father again and would like them all to move to Norway, where he works as an architect, Abigail is furious and goes for a walk to cool off, again encountering the mysterious girl. She follows her back into the 1800s and is tripped by the Little Furry Girl's father, resulting in a sprained ankle and a bruised head.
Further into the novel the character Granny (Alice Tallisker) tells Abigail that she is 'the stranger' and has 'the gift'. 'The gift' comes from a crocheted detail on her dress which enables her to travel and heal. The book later suggests that Granny will complete the crochet.
Abigail falls in love with Judah, who is betrothed to Dovey, and realises firsthand what it is like to love somebody but not be able to have them. This helps Abigail realise that she should not be selfish towards her parents and should let them have a second chance at life and marriage.
Abigail finally manages to return to her own time, and discovers that her neighbors Natalie and Vincent are the descendants of the Bow family. She also finds out that Beatie grew up to be a lady and well educated, and Judah dies at sea after marrying Dovey. After Abigail returns from Norway with her parents she meets Natalie and Vincent's uncle, who looks precisely the same as Judah. The two fall in love and Abigail tells him the story of how she went back in time.