An utterly compelling recreation of the events that led to one of the last executions in New Zealand. Albert Black, known as the 'jukebox killer', was only twenty when he was convicted of murdering another young man in a fight at a milk bar in Auckland on 26 July 1955. His crime fuelled growing moral panic about teenagers, and he was to hang less than five months later, the second-to-last person to be executed in New Zealand. But what really happened? Was this a love crime, was it a sign of juvenile delinquency? Or was this dark episode in our recent history more about our society's reaction to outsiders? Black's final words, as the hangman covered his head, were, 'I wish you all a merry Christmas, gentlemen, and a prosperous New Year.' This is his story. 'A beautiful writer' - The Times

Evocative, wry and thought-provoking, this is a rewarding journey with one of our finest writers. It is a little over a decade since Fiona Kidman wrote her last volume of memoir. But her story did not end on its last page; instead her life since has been busier than ever, filled with significant changes, new writing and fascinating journeys. From being a grandmother to becoming a widow, from the suitcase-existence of book festivals to researching the lives and deaths of Jean Batten and Albert Black, she has found herself in new territory and viewed the familiar with fresh eyes. She takes us to Paris and Pike River, to Banff, Belfast and Bangkok, searching for houses in Hanoi and Hawera, reliving her past in Waipu and creating new memories in Otago. These locations and experiences – among others – have shaped Fiona's recent years, and in this lively book she shares the insights she has picked up along the way.

An evocative novel about secrets, disillusion and a unique place. Luke Freeman returns from the Second World War keen to start a new life with his wife, Constance, and eleven-year-old daughter, Emily. However, after arriving in Northland, it is clear the patch of land he has bought from Brigadier Barnsley is useless. During the drought-stricken summer that follows, the Freeman's lives become interwoven with the demanding Barnsleys. Like the elusive springs of water, secrets are bubbling just under the surface - will they be discovered?

A collection of six compelling stories linked by a central issue in the lives of the main characters, the defining incident that shapes their futures: the disappearance of a brother; an illegitimate child born to a young girl; a traumatic court case; a woman caught between the deep friendship of two men; a lost lover; a betrayal. They are generally stories about country women, whose children have grown up and moved away to the cities, while they have remained surrounded by tight communities and an enfolding countryside. The central story is of a woman who has a drifting sewing-machine in her body. Every time she thinks she has composed her life, she is reminded of something that happened in her past and feels as if the needle is 'passing through her heart'.'She has a rare ability to capture a sense of place and time . . . [Her] stories remind me of Alice Monro.' - Booksellers News

A beautiful collection of stories by a pre-eminent writer, shortlisted for major awards.Fiona Kidman has a genius for peeling back the lives of ordinary people to reveal their hidden passions and complexities. In this brilliant new collection, she explores - with her customary subtlety and insight - how we are all touched and sometimes scarred by the flames of emotion - whether it be the impossible love of a pregnant woman for a married man, grief for a dead baby or loss of a young woman in mysterious circumstances. Ranging in time from the colonial period to the present day, these stories by one of New Zealand's foremost writers are beautifully crafted, intriguing and evocative. '[Her] stories remind me of those of Alice Munro. Though they are very much of a time and place they have a universal dimension.' - Booksellers NewsShortlisted for the NZ Post Awards and the Frank O'Connor Short Story Award.

An internationally acclaimed novel, the Kirkus Reviews wrote, 'Shrewdly balanced between earthy tenderness and the dreadful trauma of disillusionment: a grave yet limber narrative-and a very welcome import.' In a strange old building referred to as Paddy's Puzzle, Clara Bentley endures the fears of wartime and awaits the arrival of her lover, Ambrose. He's an American Marine. And he's black. Having grown up in suburban Hamilton, her move to Auckland marks an escape from the dreariness and restrictions of her childhood. In this building, full of an odd assortment of people, she waits, not just for Ambrose, but for the air-raid siren, for the culmination of her illness and for the sister to whom she dreads having to explain her new life in the Puzzle.The novel was shortlisted for the New Zealand Book Awards. The San Francisco Chronicle commented: 'The supple flow of Kidman's language is a pleasure to read. She's particularly alive to the sudden swelling...

A novel of linked stories about a woman's search for identity beyond family ties, expectations and demands.Bethany Dixon is at the centre of a complex network of relationships. She is mother and stepmother, wife and ex, daughter-in-law, sister and lover. Earthy, generous, addicted to children and food, Bethany has yet to establish her place in the world. Peter, who has loved and left her, still perceives her as the central drama of his life. In fragments and snapshots, Bethany, Peter and their children see their lives revealed as twenty-five years pass in the blink of a shutter. They discover their separate identities from unlikely sources.

Wry, moving, beautifully observed and politically astute, this latest novel from one of our finest chroniclers pinpoints universal truths through very New Zealand lives.Life isn't always like it appears in the movies. In 1952, Irene Sandle takes her young daughter to Motueka. Irene was widowed during the war and is seeking a new start and employment in the tobacco fields. There, she finds the reality of her life far removed from the glamour of the screen. Can there be romance and happy endings, or will circumstances repeat through the generations? Each subsequent episode in this poignant work follows family secrets and the dynamics of Irene's children. The story doesn't just track their lives, but also New Zealand itself as its attitudes and opportunities change - and reverberate - through the decades.'. . . she is at a literary point when age is all gain - consummate craft, passion aplenty, the complex resonance of memory, and the edginess that comes from knowing about...

A bestselling and influential novel, this compulsive story examines women's changing lives. 'One thing she had learnt was that she and Leonie belonged to a breed of women who were indestructible. They were survivors.'Taking risks is something Harriet seems driven to do as she struggles to retain her identity as a woman in the face of opposing demands from society. Through her adolescence in rural New Zealand, two marriages and a television career, she steadfastly maintains her quest. But, in the end: What has she won? What had she lost?'Tautly written, often poetic, and dramatic . . . a first-class novel.' - Sydney Morning Herald

A powerful collection of stories exploring love and longing from an exceptional writer. Fiona Kidman's early stories about New Zealand women's experiences scandalised readers with their vivid depictions of the heartbreaks and joys of desire, illicit liaisons and unconventional love. Her writing made her a feminist icon in the early 1980s, and she has since continued to tell the realities of women's lives, her books resonating with many readers over the years and across the world. To mark her 80th birthday, this volume brings together a variety of her previously published stories as well as several that are new or previously uncollected; all moving, insightful and written with love. The final stories trace her own history of love, a memoir of significant people from childhood and beyond.

A classic, prize-winning novel about an epic migration and a lone woman haunted by the past in frontier Waipu.In the 1850s, a group of settlers established a community at Waipu in the northern part of New Zealand. They were led there by a stern preacher, Norman McLeod. The community had followed him from Scotland in 1817 to found a settlement in Nova Scotia, then subsequently to New Zealand via Australia. Their incredible journeys actually happened, and in this winner of the New Zealand Book Awards, Fiona Kidman breathes life and contemporary relevance into the facts by creating a remarkable fictional story of three women entangled in the migrations - Isabella, her daughter Annie and granddaughter Maria. McLeod's harsh leadership meant that anyone who ran counter to him had to live a life of secrets. The 'secrets' encapsulated the spirit of these women in their varied reactions to McLeod's strict edicts and connect the past to the present and future.First published in 1987,...

An evocative memoir about the emergence of a pre-eminent writer in a changing world'What I have to tell is largely a personal narrative about how I came to inhabit a fictional world' This absorbing memoir explores the first half of writer Fiona Kidman's life, notably in Kerikeri amid the 'sharp citric scent of orange groves, bright heat and . . . the shadow of Asia' - at the end of Darwin Road. From the distance of France, where Kidman spent time as the Katherine Mansfield Fellow in Menton, she reconsiders the past, weaving personal reflection and experience with the history of the places where she lived, particularly the fascinating northern settlements of Kerikeri and Waipu, and further south the cities of Rotorua and Wellington. Her story crosses paths with those of numerous different New Zealanders, from the Tuhoe prophet Rua Kenana, to descendants of the migration from Scotland led by a charismatic Presbyterian minister, to other writers and significant friends. We...

A serious but also blackly funny short story about old friendships, love and formaldehyde by one of New Zealand's most distinguished writers.Now middle-aged, the one-time teenage rebels live staid, safe lives, while their friend Jan, who had been the good one of their pack, is now locked up in prison. With Jan's mother just dead, there is no one to organise the funeral except for her two old class mates. They agree to help, but Jan's request for a special dress for the corpse leads to a moral dilemma.

A superbly written novel offering an intriguing interpretation of one of the world's greatest aviators, the glamorous and mysterious Jean Batten. Jean Batten became an international icon in the 1930s. A brave, beautiful woman, she made a number of heroic solo flights across the world. The newspapers couldn't get enough of her; and yet she suddenly slipped out of view, disappearing to the Caribbean with her mother and dying in obscurity in Majorca, buried in a pauper's grave. Fiona Kidman's enthralling novel delves into the life of this enigmatic woman, exploring mysteries and crafting a fascinating exploration of early flying, of mothers and daughters, and of fame and secrecy.

Acclaimed by critics as 'beautifully written', 'innovative' and 'profoundly moving', this novel is about the ways we are influenced in early life and can connect to others through shared experience.A woman rows across a lake with a small part-Asian child. The woman is Violet Trench, who in future years will run the Violet Caf? with an iron will. Those who work in her caf? come from a diverse range of backgrounds, but each with their own troubles and each affected by working for this enigmatic woman. Her influence takes Jessie Sandal on dangerous journeys to the Far East, and to another stretch of water to be crossed with a small part-Asian child.Although the characters go their separate ways, they never forget the flavour of that summer working at the caf?, like the secret, surprising allure of the truffle that infused the food there.