Clara Wilde doesn’t live up to her name. The 13-year-old is a worrier: too scared to speak up in class; the last picked for teams; and bullied by a boy in her class. Thing haven’t been right at home since her twin brother, Darius, died two years ago. Her parents are separated; she’s lost and lonely.
It’s 1998, and Clara is looking forward to a trip to the mountains near Bright, Victoria, to celebrate the centenary of the Mount Buffalo Chalet with both her mum and dad.
Clara dresses in a maid’s uniform for the fancy dress party at the Chalet. She peruses the display of memorabilia of the guide she’s studied for school, Alice Manfield, famously known as Guide Alice. As she peers into the lens of Alice’s old camera, she feels faint. When she recovers, her surroundings are very different. She’s in Alice’s family’s hut, with Alice herself, who’s Clara’s age – Clara has travelled back in time to 1893.
The Manfields assume that Clara is the new maid for the Carlile family. Clara is initially confused but begins to play along. Alice takes Clara under her wing, teaching her how to be a maid.
The two girls quickly form a firm friendship. When the weather clears and Alice and Clara go to the Carlile’s, they find themselves mixed up in a robbery. Alice is abducted. Clara goes to get help and soon finds herself needing to give first aid to Alice’s brother, Bill, and one of the men who were robbed.
Clara must find her inner strength … and find out how to return to 1998. Alice helps but ultimately, if she’s to succeed, it’s up to Clara.
Reviewed by Bob Moore
Age Guide 10+
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I’m Mum to 3 beautiful sons and live in Adelaide with my family and assortment of rescue pets. I’ve been blogging since 2001 and have written literally thousands of blog posts. I’ve also written for print and digital magazines, journals, academic conferences, blogs and websites. I worked as a social worker for many years and have a PhD in Psychology. I looked at how we can better support women with type 1 diabetes as they go through the pregnancy journey.
I’ve lived with type 1 diabetes since 1979 and anxiety and ADHD for much of my life. Both of these diagnosed in adulthood. I have also experienced depression. These were difficult times in my life. But I managed to move through them and learn a lot about myself and how to navigate the world.
I’ve been reading and writing since I was tiny and most of my spare time as a child was spent with my head buried in a book. When I was in grade 1, my teachers sent me to the library to choose my own readers. Because I had already read the entire suite of junior readers! They were part of my journey to deciding I wanted to be an author one day.
I won an award for a book I’d written when I was 6 years old, during Children’s Book Week. It still takes pride of place and even has my 6-year-old handwriting in the front Published by Helen Wilde, Written by Helen Wilde (my name before I got married).
ater, after my family moved to a different town, my parents taught at the area school I attended. In the holidays the most magical part was being allowed to roam the library and select an enormous box of books for the break. I would read the back of a cereal pack at the breakfast table if there was nothing else nearby!
In 2013 I started The Sustainable Home Hub (then Recycled Interiors) as an outlet for my interest in design, decoration, the arts and our planet. It took off quickly and I gathered more than 100,000 followers on social media. I studied interior design and worked as a sustainable interior decorator for a time.
In 2018, I decided it was time to follow my dreams and have a go at becoming a traditionally published children’s author. I enrolled in a course with the Australian Writers Centre. Then, I began writing a middle-grade manuscript and networked with the literary community. I studied and developed my craft, pitched to agents and publishers, wrote some more, and was picked up by my wonderful agent.
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