The Art of Depicting Large Families in Novels

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Vermeer’s iconic painting “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” which inspired Tracy Chevalier’s 1999 novel of the same name. The 17th-century artist was the father of 15 children. (Photo by Lex van Lieshout/ANP via Getty Images.)

Novels featuring families with plenty of children offer plenty of content fodder. The various kids will obviously have personality differences, fight with each other, be nice to each other, get sick at times, etc. — with the older ones perhaps acting as sort of assistant moms or dads. Large households of course also make for frazzled parents (not to mention multiple never-easy pregnancies), economic challenges, and more. And what kind of work will the children do when they become adults? Much potential to keep novel readers absorbed.

For the purposes of this post, I’m defining a big family as including four or more children.

The main point of Tracy Chevalier’s excellent novel Girl with a Pearl Earring, which I just read, is the author’s imagining the life of the teen maid (Griet) who posed for the legendary painting of the book’s title created by masterful 17th-century Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer. But one can’t help noticing along the way that Vermeer and his wife Catharina had a LOT of children: 15, with 11 surviving past infancy, of whom more than half had been born during the mid-1660s time in which Chevalier’s historical novel is primarily set. The variations between those kids, and in how they treat Griet, make for interesting reading — with one Vermeer child, Cornelia, particularly mean.

Anne Shirley eventually had seven children with Gilbert Blythe as L.M. Montgomery’s many Anne of Green Gables sequels spooled out. The beloved character was a great mother, and her kids had appealingly distinct personalities, but one couldn’t help but lament that the brilliant/spirited Anne didn’t live up to her early promise and be more than mostly a parent — important as that is. This was of course partly due to her living in a more patriarchal time with many fewer women in out-of-home workplaces, but still disappointing.

Arthur and Molly Weasley of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series also had seven children. That couple certainly struggled economically but retained personalities with some strong non-parental facets. And the kids (Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny) were quite memorable in their ways — including the bravery or humor displayed by some of them.

Other large fictional households with diverse, hard-to-forget siblings include — among many others — those in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (five sisters), Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women (four sisters), Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible (four sisters), Liane Moriarty’s Apples Never Fall (four sisters and brothers), Lisa Genova’s Inside the O’Briens (four sisters and brothers), and Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov (four brothers, including one “illegitimate” one who’s treated as a family servant).

There is also Cheaper by the Dozen by Ernestine Gilbreth Carey and Frank Gilbreth — with that author duo being two of the 12 children referenced in their book’s title. Not exactly a novel; it’s a memoir/fiction mix about the 14-person Gilbreth family who lived in my town of Montclair, New Jersey.

Any thoughts about this topic and/or specific books that fit this topic?

My literary-trivia book is described and can be purchased here: Fascinating Facts About Famous Fiction Authors and the Greatest Novels of All Time.

In addition to this weekly blog, I write the 2003-started/award-winning “Montclairvoyant” topical-humor column every Thursday for Montclair Local. The latest piece — about my town’s upcoming May 14 election and more — is here.

119 thoughts on “The Art of Depicting Large Families in Novels”

  1. Little Women & Pride & Prejudice were my favourites as a teenager. Both my parents were from large families as well. I have thought about writing a book about a family with ten kids and see all the different paths each kid takes, and also how the parents evolve.

    I enjoyed The Waltons for that reason. Lol maybe it’s a bit cheesy but Erin & Mary Ellen were my favourite. And of course John Boy.

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  3. Hi Dave!

    This one caught my attention immediately because of the picture. My father was an artist and he used to own numerous books about art, especially those that depicted the art of masters of the 17th century.

    I really enjoyed this because it opened up my imagination to all the possibilities, to look deeper than just the portret, and see a story behind it.

    Thank you so much.

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    • Thank you, Lena! Glad the post brought up good associations — i.e., your father. Great that he was an artist and a collector of books about art! And, yes, it’s very interesting to think of the stories behind paintings, including what kind of lives the people being painted had.

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  4. Two novels spring to mind, though I read them decades apart: 

    1)IB SInger’s “The Family Moskat”– a multi-generational saga of a Jewish family, which culminates with the bombing of Warsaw by the Nazis at the beginning of WW II. This was Singer’s first novel, printed first in Yiddish, and in installments in the “Jewish Daily Forward” in 1944, and translated into English in 1950.  I will not spoil it, but the novel’s last pages are  a provocative shock and among my favorite endings ever!

    2)Vasily Grossman’s “Life and Fate”, a sprawling, nearly 900-page novel centered on the Shtrum/Shaposhnikov family, though its scope and range of characters and events is meant to to compare with Tolstoy’s “War and Peace”.  The action in the novel mostly takes place around the time of the Battle of Stalingrad, and after, with characters running into sudden and mortal danger under wehrmacht fire and under the constant threat of punishment and even imprisonment from political commissars attached to the military, and omnipresent in civilian life, wherein conversation among friends one month can become evidence of anti-Soviet treachery the next.  Like Tolstoy’s book, there are brief appearances by actual historical figures.

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    • Thank you, jhNY! Two great mentions, with two great descriptions of them!

      I’ve had “The Family Moskat” on my to-read list for several years (probably because of you recommending it previously), but the novel is stubbornly never on the shelves of my local library. The book and especially (from what you just said) its ending sound VERY intriguing. I’ve read a collection of I.B. Singer’s short stories, and thought the tales were terrific.

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  5. Trying to write a children’s book – about middle grade, I included a family of four.. ‘ A cast of thousands’ was the shocked response. Orphans seemed to be mandatory.

    Four Swallows, five including Bridget, only two Amazons, and all of them more incredible than Harry Potter & co., Servants, boarding schools, given a boat by their uncle, their privileged world was alien.

    The Family From One End Street, Carnegie medal winner , seven children in a more or less happy family. Re-reading now, fascinating social history too., including Workers’ Education

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    • Thank you, Esther! Yikes — a family of four doesn’t seem to warrant “a cast of thousands” response. And I appreciate the two other examples you offered. More incredible than Harry Potter characters is high praise!

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  6. Hi DAve, I grew up with three half sisters. My mother is one of eight children, all of whom survived, and my dad is one of four boys. My book, While the Bombs Fell, depicts seven of the eight children. The last was born post the war. Other books with large families that have not yet been mentioned here: What Katy Did, Katy was the oldest of six children; Little Women (four girls), The Thorn Birds, Meggie was one of seven if I remember correctly. There were eight Tarleton children in Gone with the Wind. Tess from Tess of the d’Urbervilles is the oldest of 5 children. Her feelings of responsibility for her family shape her life.

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  7. Dave,

    I did think of the Joad family in The Grapes of Wrath.

    The had 6…I think Tom, Ruthie, Noah, Winfield, Al, and Rose.

    They were also 3 generations in the home.

    Please give Misty a big pet for me! Thank you!

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  9. That’s the one thing that always bothered me just a teeny bit about Anne of Green Gables, as much as I completely adore that series (in fact, I am re-reading it now as we speak, to boost my spirits in these bleak-feeling times). I always wanted to see Anne-with-an-e be a successful writer or academic in addition the flying success she has with her family. Luckily we have the movies for that 🙂 I’ve never read Girl with a Pearl Earring, I’ll have to do that one of these days!

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    • Thank you, M.B.! Well said! Anne’s trajectory is indeed kind of bothersome (though, as I mentioned in another comment, L.M. Montgomery at least featured a “career woman” in the semi-autobiographical “Emily” trilogy). But, yes, the “Anne” books are still mostly great! Nice that you’re rereading them!

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  11. Thank you very much, Dave,for this most interesting post and for having mentioned that I had recommended “The Girl with a Pearl Earring”! It seems to me that the reason to have a big family is to help each other. There is another book, which comes to my mind and which I think belongs into your group.It is called Angela’s Ashes by Franc Mc Court. As I am thinking of it goose pimples appear on my skin, because of how poor they were and of how they helped each other. The story takes place in Limerick, Ireland and it is autobiographical.

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  12. Perhaps coming from a small family (2 boys) I relate better to a small number of children. The only story that comes to mind with a large number of children is “A Christmas Carol” but even there the focus is narrowed two one with small roles for others. I don’t know that I could write about more than 2 or 3 children, but I’m impressed by those who can.

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    • Thank you, Dan! I hear you — it undoubtedly helps when writing about a big family to have come from a big family. (I’m one of three kids myself; one sister and one brother.) A lot of characters to juggle when there are many children. And great mention of “A Christmas Carol”!

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      • Ah, I know this. ‘A Christmas Carol’ had 6 children with Bob Cratchit from Charles Dickens (b. 7 Feb 1812). Laura Ingalls Wilder had four siblings plus her (b. 7 Feb 1875) about her ‘The Little House on the Prairie’ series of children’s books. I only mention because I was born 7 Feb 1963!

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  13. Thank you very much, Dave,for this most interesting post and for having mentioned that I had recommended “The Girl with a Pearl Earring”! It seems to me that the reason to have a big family is to help each other. There is another book, which comes to my mind and which I think belongs into your group.It is called Angela’s Ashes by Franc Mc Court. As I am thinking of it goose pimples appear on my skin, because of how poor they were and of how they helped each other. The story takes place in Limerick, Ireland and it is autobiographical.

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  14. Sum of the books I’ve read were inspired because of movies I had seen and my curiosity as to how closely the book followed the movie, and was there more or less I was missing, which was the case re: The Durrells in Corfu on PBS Masterpiece; the book The Corfu Trilogy by Gerald Durrell. Then there are all the short fiction stories, not movies, re: the Glass family by JD Salinger having really liked Franny and Zooey the most. I still remember the line about God pouring God into God. “I was six when I saw that everything was God, and my hair stood up, and all, Teddy said. It was on a Sunday, I remember. My sister was a tiny child then, and she was drinking her milk, and all of a sudden I saw that she was God and the milk was God. I mean, all she was doing was pouring God into God, if you know what I mean.” J.D. Salinger Thanx for this weeks theme Dave. Susi

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    • Thank you, Susi! Yes, fascinating to compare books with the movies based on those books.

      I’m not a huge fan of J.D. Salinger — mixed feelings about his stories and “The Catcher in the Rye.” But that God paragraph was quite something! 🙂

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      • I’m more of a short fiction fan of Salinger, and yes he lived a very indecent life as I’ve learned over the years. Salacious Salinger vs one who writes about God–a great example of cognitive dissonance or, perhaps, just a product of the 50s, *sigh* Where would we be without our troubled childhoods?

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        • In addition to my mixed feelings about Salinger’s work, I agree that he seemed to be a jerk in his personal life. Certainly not the only author that way. I try to separate an author’s work from his or her personality and views, but not always.

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  16. I must read the Girl book now. I have seen the film and loved it. Big families are certainly interesting. I started doing my family history years back mainly to unravel the awful mess my dad’s family were and truned up siblings he had probably forgotten he had given they died young. Big families have always fascinated me cos I grew up surroudned by them although I only had one sibling who was older. So books with big families? The Joads in Grapes of Wrath which you had a wonderful post about a few blogs back, were pretty big. There’s a restoration one I read ayear or so ago, but I will ahve to come back with the title. It certainly had a huge family in it all very different and all making their ways in rather odd ways in the world

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  17. Dave – this is an excellent post for Mother’s Day.

    During my Google search for books centered around family, one of the top results was “The Weight of Ink” by Rachel Kadish. This is a compelling novel that intertwines the stories of two women separated by centuries. The meticulous historical research and vivid storytelling create a rich tapestry of Jewish history and intellectual pursuits

    Rachel Kadish delves into the intricate themes of family dynamics, the impact of children on one’s life, and the enduring nature of legacies. Through the characters and their relationships, Kadish skillfully weaves a narrative that highlights the complexities and significance of these themes, inviting readers to reflect on the profound influence they have on individuals and generations to come.

    Family structures are intricate and can present challenges in navigation. This book and those that you mentioned, Dave, serve as a reminder of this complexity. Despite the difficulties, family is ultimately what we consider to be our own.

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    • Thank you, Rebecca! “The Weight of Ink” is still on my list, but it stubbornly refuses to be in my local library every time I visit. 🙂 I still very much want to read it. Loved your extensive description of the book!

      And very wise words in your comment’s final paragraph. Families can be positive or negative or a mix of both, but they are indeed what we have…

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      • Yes, Martina – outstanding women who defined their lives by seeking truth. I still think of these words:

        “Our life is a walk in the night, we know not how great the distance to the dawn that awaits us. And the path is strewn with stumbling blocks and our bodies are grown tyrannous with weeping yet we lift our feet. We lift our feet.” Rachel Kadish, The Weight of Ink

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  18. Another great topic to thank you for, Dave. How about Fanny Price, the eldest of ten children in Mansfield Park? I think she’s sent to the wealthy Bertram relatives because her family is struggling, hence starting the story. Catherine Morland in Northanger Abbey is also one of ten – Jane Austen seems to have had a hang-up about the number. Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt sees Angela with 6 children, not counting the miscarriage she’s had. I’ll try to think of some more. 🙂

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  19. My mother read CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN aloud to my sister and me, and then we read it over and over to ourselves, plus the wonderful sequel, BELLES ON THEIR TOES, which is just as amusing. Since I had only one sibling, I thought so many brothers and sisters would be great fun. When I think of other books with more than three kids in a family, I think of favorite children’s books: Sydney Taylor’s ALL-OF-A-KIND FAMILY series, about five little girls living on the Lower East Side at the turn of the century. Or Elizabeth Enright’s books about the four Melendy children–I loved those, too.

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    • Thank you, Kim! Yes, the Gilbreths were quite a family with quite an interesting and humorous story! Having 11 siblings does sound fun in a way, but also terrifying in a way. 🙂

      And great mention that there are some large families in children’s books!

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  20. Family sagas make for very interesting reading. In addition to the novels you’ve mentioned, the one that came immediately to mind is the 1977 novel The Thorn Birds by Australian author Colleen McCullough, set in the Australian Outback. Though I’ve forgotten the details of the story, I recall that it made quite an impression on me as a young adult reader.

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  21. I agree, Dave. Something happened to Anne’s personality along the way. I felt the same thing happened to Natasha Rostova in War and Peace. Maybe I’m looking through the narrative through the lens of our time.

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    • Thank you, Rebecca! Given that L.M. Montgomery was ahead of her time in certain ways as a career woman, I’m a bit surprised that she turned Anne into a relatively conventional person in the later “Anne” books. But Montgomery did avoid that with other female characters in some other works such as the “Emily” trilogy and “The Blue Castle.” And, yes, to a certain extent we’re looking at this from a 21st-century perspective.

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      • Dave – you prompted me to look back on how writers of the Victorian times portrayed married women. How far we have come since even the 1950’s and into the 1980’s. In Victorian times, writers often portrayed married women as devoted wives and mothers, emphasizing their domestic roles and responsibilities. These women were typically depicted as self-sacrificing, nurturing, and morally upright, embodying the ideal of domesticity and virtue. Their identities were closely tied to their roles within the family, with little emphasis on their hopes and dreams.

        I recall (and this was in the late 1980’s) when someone told me that good and lasting marriages were based on having the husband smarter than the wife. I was told that Don and I had a good marriage. I said to Don – well, I guess you’re the smarter one. (We both know that I’m the smarter one LOL!!! LOL!!! LOL!!!)

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    • Hi Rebecca, maybe it is just normal for women to be sidetracked by their children. I see it every day. Women lose focus on their jobs and careers when they have babies. The baby becomes the focus of their lives, and that is as it should be. This is why, in my opinion, a lot of women never achieve what they could have. I certainly didn’t. I put my career aside for my children. The only reason I am still in such high demand is because I am so very good at what I do. They make a lot of allowances for me – grin!

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  22. Love this post, Dave. I’ve thought several times of writing about my parent’s family; 10 on my mother side and 8 on my father side.
    You’ve posted one of my favorite paintings, I’ve seen the movie, you’ve inspired me to read the book. Thanks again, dear friend.😃💕

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    • Thank you, Maggie! Anne is a great character and a great person, but her personality seemed to peak in the early books when she was a precocious girl and then a young teacher and college student.

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  24. Writing about large families would be fun as it would give you many characters to work with. My aunt and uncle had 11 children (including a set of twins). My aunt said that each one was different.

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    • Thank you, Darlene! Great point about more characters to work with! Although of course an author can’t devote a huge amount of space to all of them.

      Your aunt and uncle had quite a large family! In my grandparents’ families, there were also many kids — as was often the case back then. And my wife has four sisters.

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