The Book Of Secrets

Description

In 1854, 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, but Fiona Kidman breaths 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.

Author description

Dame Fiona Kidman is one of New Zealand's most distinguished writers. The author of 20 books, she has been awarded a number of major prizes and fellowships and was the Katherine Mansfield Fellow in Menton, France , in 2006. She lives in Wellington with her husband, Ian.

Table of contents

The house; Maria - telling it, 1953; Isabella, 1812-20; Annie, 1838-55; Maria, 1898-1953.