The True Story of Lilli Stubeck

I found this Australian Children's Book of the Year 1985 an absorbing and thought-provoking read; the sort of book that makes demands on readers and challenges them to examine the complexity of human nature. Little wonder it is in Puffin Plus; some adults I know would baulk at its relatively slow pace. Lilli Stubeck's strange gypsy character, the epitome of self-reliance, fierce independence and most importantly individualism is set against the self-same qualities of Miss Dalgleish, a wealthy ageing spinster. Their private battle to gain the upper hand is told objectively by Kit Quayle, who becomes involved mostly with Lilli, whom he finds as unfathomable as her benefactress. Lilli looks as though she has lost by the time the spinster dies, but then she has an unexpected card to play...