AustLit

'The Eliots at Bluewren House always host a big Christmas party for all the village, which includes a massive feast, a big Christmas tree, presents for all the children, carols, and a visit from Santa. It's a big, fun, glittering occasion and everyone always looks forward to it, especially the children. But this year, everything is much more subdued-the Eliots are not making their usual preparations, planning, ordering things from the village, sending staff on secret errands and so on. The gardens are brown. The dams are dry. The drought has been going for two years. The adults are busy creating fire breaks and making the town safe from bushfires. No one in the town has any money or heart for Christmas. Gloom has settled on the big house. Christmas is only six days away, but it seems there won't be a party, for the first time ever, as Mr Eliot announces the festivities are cancelled. But the youngest Eliot daughter, nine-year-old Bessie, who fervently believes that Santa will bring rain, is determined that the Christmas party must go ahead, and so does her best friend, Katie Phelan. They start by talking Bessie's siblings into helping with their plan, then all of them go to talk to the other village children: and everyone agrees they have to take matters into their own hands and start planning the best Christmas party ever, with the help of some of the adults who learn about what they are doing. It's a secret to everyone else. Or so the kids think. One by one the grown-ups are let into the secret until most of them know, but are all sworn to secret, so they all think that no-one knows. In the finale, all ends well-and there's a lovely Christmas surprise in store, as Santa shows up after all?' (Publication summary)