Austlit

In Authors and Illustrators of Australian Children's Books (1989), Walter McVitty (q.v.) suggests that Jessie Whitfeld was one of the first children's authors to introduce fairies, giants, witches, dragons and mermaids into Australian children's literature. She used the protagonists of European fairytales placed in Australian settings, such as the Blue Mountains and Jenolan Caves in New South Wales. Whitfield's later writing was in the family story genre and was thought to have been a response to the broad popularity of the successful books of Ethel Turner (q.v.).