Bronwyn Lowe is a historian of Australian book history and girlhood, who examines attitudes towards girls’ reading habits in the past. Her most recent journal articles have appeared in History Compass and Book History. She currently works as a sessional lecturer of Australian Studies at the University of Melbourne.

"This is an important contribution to the growing field of girlhood studies, using a range of sources to assess what Australian girls were reading and how their identity as citizens was affected by those choices." -- Nancy G. Rosoff, Dean of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies, Arcadia University (USA)

• Preface and AcknowledgmentsIntroduction1 Girlhood reading in the First World War2 Magazine reading and access in the 1920s3 Libraries, education and reading in the Great Depression4 Girl-readers in the Second World War5 1950s Australia and a new Australian children’s literatureConclusionIndex

Bronwyn Lowe is a historian of Australian book history and girlhood, who examines attitudes towards girls’ reading habits in the past. Her most recent journal articles have appeared in History Compass and Book History. She currently works as a sessional lecturer of Australian Studies at the University of Melbourne.

"This is an important contribution to the growing field of girlhood studies, using a range of sources to assess what Australian girls were reading and how their identity as citizens was affected by those choices." -- Nancy G. Rosoff, Dean of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies, Arcadia University (USA)

• Preface and AcknowledgmentsIntroduction1 Girlhood reading in the First World War2 Magazine reading and access in the 1920s3 Libraries, education and reading in the Great Depression4 Girl-readers in the Second World War5 1950s Australia and a new Australian children’s literatureConclusionIndex