Playing Beatie Bow

infobox Book |
name = Playing Beatie Bow
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption =
author = Ruth Park
cover_artist =
country = Australia
language = English
series =
genre = Novel
publisher = First in 1980 by Thomas Nelson and then in 1982 by Puffin Books
release_date = 1980
media_type = Print
pages = 196
isbn =
preceded_by =
followed_by =

Playing Beatie Bow is an Australian children's book written by Ruth Park and first published in 1980. The story is set in Australia and is about a girl named Abigail who travels back in time to colonial Sydney-Town in the year 1873, where she meets Beatie Bow, a girl whose name has become part of Abigail's local folklore. A lot of the book is set in real-life locations around Sydney's historical Rocks district and the house is a museum that you can even look at it is 110-130 years old.

The book has been a part of the NSW and Tasmanian Primary School syllabus on and off since its publication. It has since been turned into a movie, where Abigail is played by Imogen Annesley. It is has been the recipient of Australian Book of the Century.

Characters
Lynette/Abigail Kirk
Beatrice May Bow (Beatie)
Gilbert Samuel Bow (Gibbie)
Judah Bow
Samuel Bow
Alice Tallisker (Granny)
Dorcas Tallisker (Dovey)
Justine Crown
Vincent Crown
Natalie Crown
Kathy Kirk
Weyland Kirk
Grandma
Robert Bow

Lynette Kirk was a happy young girl who was cheery and enthusiastic towards her parents and life, until the day her father went off with another woman leaving her and her mother (Kathy). Lynette wanted nothing to do with her father so she changed her name to try and get everything about him out of her life. After wanting to be named after a witch she changed her name to Abigail, which her grandmother suggested.She went down to the park with her young next door neighbours Natalie and Vincent, finding them playing a game called, 'Beatie Bow'. After becoming very interested in a little girl that stood there watching them play (Little Furry Girl) she decided to follow her. This was after having a fight with her mother, when she told Abigail that she had been seeing her father again and that he wanted the two of them to move back in with him and live in Norway where his architectural job was located. Abigail did not take this news well - She went for a walk to cool off, when she once again saw the little furry girl and following her found that she had followed her back into her own time of 1873. She got tripped over by the Little Furry Girl's father, then found herself at their house.
Further into the novel the character Granny (Alice Tallisker) told Abigail that she was 'the stranger' and had 'the gift'. 'The gift' came from the crochet on the top of her dress which enabled her to travel and heal. Later in the book it mentions that the crochet was made by Granny.
She falls in love with Judah, who was betrothed to Dovey, and realised firsthand what it's like to love somebody but no be able to have them. This helped Abigail realise that she should not be selfish towards her parents and should let them have a second chance of a decent life and marriage.During the time that she was in the past Abigail matured by being influenced by the people that surrounded her, the world in which she lived and the events which occurred there.

ee also

* South Australian Film Corporation