* Books by DianaWynneJones exhibit this to differing degrees, depending on the level of ParentalNeglect (a frequent trope in her books) and somewhat on the decade in which the book was written. The children in TheOgreDownstairs (early 1970s) have attentive parents, but the youngest child (aged seven or so) is allowed to go to the library on her own in the daytime, though it's clear that none of the children is allowed out after dark. The girls in TheTimeOfTheGhost, set in the late 70s, live in a separate building from their parents, who don't check up on their whereabouts and don't notice when one of them goes missing (on purpose, to test them). Polly in FireAndHemlock (1980s) ends up wandering alone around a city she doesn't know well, not knowing where she'll spend the night, because her divorced parents have both assumed that the other one is going to take care of her - but it's made clear that her parents are irresponsible, and her granny is appalled when she finds out. Later books tend to have a much elder sibling character (or similar) who can plausibly supervise, such as Vanessa in TheHomewardBounders or Fifi the au pair in ArchersGoon.

14th Apr '13 9:59:32 AM Vilui

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1st Apr '13 4:57:16 PM DougSMachina

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1st Apr '13 3:55:46 PM naralian

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