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The Foxhole is a 1967 children's novel by Australian author Ivan Southall (1921–2008). It was first published in Great Britain, with subsequent editions including in Australia.

Ken is a ten-year-old boy who travels alone by train and bus to stay with his aunt, uncle, and cousins. The suspense begins to build as he faces the solo journey for the first time. After camping in a tent in the dark with his cousin, he becomes trapped in a blackberry thicket, then falls into a 'fox hole' that turns out to be an abandoned gold mine shaft that has a sinister story attached to it. When Ken makes a surprising discovery about the contents of the shaft, his uncle Bob and auntie Kath confront a conflict between their desire to rescue the injured Ken, and a greedy wish to capitalise on his discovery without anyone else finding out about it. This gives the story "a bit of a dark turn when it becomes clear that the uncle is having second thoughts about actually helping Ken."^[1]

First published in 1967, the book will read as dated and somewhat gender inappropriate for a 21st-century reader, for example the young daughter of the family being expected to usually wash up after dinner when her slightly older brother has no such responsibility. However some of the historical details are interesting, such as the layout of old-fashioned trains, with windows that open and luggage racks. Melbourne readers especially may enjoy Southall's descriptions of the quality of parts of the bushland and concepts about historical events in the Monbulk area, beyond Belgrave (as well as negative human impacts on landscape).

In his extensive published notes about Southall, retired lecturer in education John Gough states that: "Southall was a pioneer of realism in children’s literature, an author who created strong portraits of complicated children and teenagers – an author who almost single-handedly changed the way books were written, and stories were told for children and young adults!"^[2]

Kate Fitzgerald, writing in the Read-At-Home-Mom blog in 2021 says: "This is a concise story that packs a bit of a punch. Ivan Southall not only portrays a realistic child character to whom most kids can relate, but he also uses his story to raise moral questions about how people, including adults, navigate their lives. ... The author ... manages to write an ending that resolves most of the story's tension but still makes the reader think."^[1]