The Four Seasons of Lucy McKensie

The Four Seasons of Lucy McKensie by Kirsty (Boyd) Murray

Sent to stay with her aunt in an old house in a hidden valley, Lucy McKensie discovers the house is full of mysteries.

One hot, dark night, she hears a voice calling to her from deep inside one of the pictures painted on to the wall of the dining room.

On the other side of the painting, Lucy meets three children. Together they race horses through the bush, battle fire and floods, and make friendships that will last a lifetime.

But who are April, Tom and Jimmy Tiger, and what magic has drawn Lucy to them?

The story of a magical house full of paintings has been with me since I was a child.

Avendale, the mysterious (and fictitious) old house that Lucy McKenzie visits, is loosely based on three houses that once belonged to members of my family. Riversdale, near Nowra in NSW, is now part of the Bundanon and is as beautiful as ever.

The Grange in Harkaway in Victoria, was demolished when I was still in primary school though I visited it once shortly before it slid into a quarry. Lastly, Tralee, a house that really did have the four seasons painted (by my great-grandmother) on the walls of its dining room, was burned to the ground in the February bushfires of 2009.

The Four Seasons of Lucy McKenzie grew out of the ashes of those fires. Nothing is lost as long as its story is told.

Aurealis Award – Winner – Best Children’s Book 2013

Children: 9-13

Classic fiction (Children’s/Teenage)

216 pages

Paperback