Young Jane

Author: Eileen Soper

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From the inside front flap: "This is the story of Jane, a first-generation New Zealander, who lived on her grandfather's sheep-run in Otago in the 1860s. Until she was nine years old Jane had no companion of her own age, for no other farmhouse was near and the other members of the household were long since grown up. But then a wonderful thing happened: a new family came to live in Cob Cottage on Grandfather's land, and now Jane had two lively companions in Tilda and her brother Rusty. Trafal-trio was their secret password, and only they three knew its meaning and were bound by it. Every day held some new adventure, some new discovery. They found and explored an island in the river, and made the acquaintance of Old Matthew, the half-hermit, who lived in the 'Promised Land' beyond. And there was one perilous adventure that might have ended badly when the river yielded up a secret of long ago. The setting is New Zealand, the story is for children everywhere. A book to treasure and keep."

National Library of NZ Entry

What drew me in was the cover: a delicate cross-stitch sampler, the kind I’ve spent hours recreating myself. The introduction reveals it’s no mere decoration, it’s an antique piece stitched by the story’s heroine, nine-year-old Jane, over the course of a single month in colonial New Zealand. This gentle tale follows her final stitches and the adventures that unfold alongside them.

Soper’s prose is warm, precise, and quietly luminous. Jane begins shy and lonely, but the arrival of a lively settler family changes everything. Together, the children explore hidden gullies, unearth family secrets, and forge bonds that transcend class and circumstance. Jane’s grandmother steals every scene, especially in the tender chapter “Patchwork Piece”, imparting lessons in generosity: Judge no one by purse or pedigree; share your friendship and your bread.

Each chapter opens with a short poem, and sparse black-and-white illustrations add just the right nostalgic touch. Standouts include a vivid bush Christmas (complete with pōhutukawa garlands) and a loving inventory of Jane’s nursery bookshelf; pure joy for any young reader.

A small masterpiece of 1950s New Zealand children’s literature. Jane may be nine, but the story will charm confident readers up to 12. Wholesome, thoughtful, and utterly free of concerns.

Highly recommended.

A note on the author: Eileen Soper (“Dot” to friends) was a cherished New Zealand journalist and children’s book reviewer for the Otago Witness and Otago Daily Times. Not the English illustrator of Enid Blyton fame. She wrote just two novels for young readers: Young Jane and The Month of the Brittle Star. Her full biography is here.

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