The Larnachs

The Larnachs PDF Author: Owen Marshall
Publisher: Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited
ISBN: 1869794982
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 220

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Book Description
Based on a real love triangle, this fascinating novel is by one of New Zealand's most-loved respected authors. 'Dougie's story and mine is not told in the history of William Larnach. It is our private journey, and only we understand how it came about; only we know the fitness and the wonder of it.' William James Mudie Larnach's name resonates in New Zealand history - the politician and self-made man who built the famous 'castle' on Otago Peninsula. In 1891, after the death of his first two wives, he married the much younger Constance de Bathe Brandon. But the marriage that began with such happiness was to end in tragedy. The story of the growing relationship between Conny and William's younger son, Dougie, lies at the heart of Owen Marshall's subtle and compelling new novel. The socially restrictive world of late nineteenth-century Dunedin and Wellington springs vividly to life as Marshall traces the deepening love between stepmother and stepson, and the slow disintegration of the domineering yet vulnerable figure of Larnach himself. Can love ever really be its own world, free of morality and judgement and scandal? Moving, thought-provoking and superbly written, The Larnachs is a memorable piece of fiction from one of our wisest authors.

The Larnachs

The Larnachs PDF Author: Owen Marshall
Publisher: Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited
ISBN: 1869794982
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 220

Get Book Here

Book Description
Based on a real love triangle, this fascinating novel is by one of New Zealand's most-loved respected authors. 'Dougie's story and mine is not told in the history of William Larnach. It is our private journey, and only we understand how it came about; only we know the fitness and the wonder of it.' William James Mudie Larnach's name resonates in New Zealand history - the politician and self-made man who built the famous 'castle' on Otago Peninsula. In 1891, after the death of his first two wives, he married the much younger Constance de Bathe Brandon. But the marriage that began with such happiness was to end in tragedy. The story of the growing relationship between Conny and William's younger son, Dougie, lies at the heart of Owen Marshall's subtle and compelling new novel. The socially restrictive world of late nineteenth-century Dunedin and Wellington springs vividly to life as Marshall traces the deepening love between stepmother and stepson, and the slow disintegration of the domineering yet vulnerable figure of Larnach himself. Can love ever really be its own world, free of morality and judgement and scandal? Moving, thought-provoking and superbly written, The Larnachs is a memorable piece of fiction from one of our wisest authors.

Love as a Stranger

Love as a Stranger PDF Author: Owen Marshall
Publisher: Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited
ISBN: 1775538737
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 271

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Book Description
Brilliantly tracing the progress of unexpected love and the perils of relationships, this gripping novel is a tour de force. Temporarily in Auckland while her husband is undergoing treatment, Sarah enjoys a walk in the coolness of the Symonds Street Cemetery. As she pauses at the grave of Emily Keeling, murdered in 1886 by a rejected suitor, a stranger named Hartley strikes up a conversation. Before long he arranges to meet Sarah for coffee. So their friendship begins, and soon blossoms into an affair, rich in mutual understanding and sexual excitement. But love may become obsession, which brings with it disquieting demands, even menace. ‘When love is not madness, it is not love.’

Carnival Sky

Carnival Sky PDF Author: Owen Marshall
Publisher: Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited
ISBN: 1775535835
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 282

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Book Description
Beautifully written, brilliantly observed and ultimately optimistic, this novel by one of New Zealand's finest writers powerfully captures those times when death puts life on hold. Sheff is disillusioned with journalism and, with plans to travel overseas, chucks in his job. But first he goes south to Alexandra, where his father is dying. He becomes caught up with his family in the agonising inertia of waiting for approaching death. Slowly he comes to terms with suppressed issues of loss, love, resentment and commitment, and acknowledges he must reach out for new relationships. Sheff's gradual transformation - sometimes darkly humorous, sometimes disconcerting - is handled with insight and subtlety and is totally convincing.

Letters to Emma

Letters to Emma PDF Author: Fiona McPherson
Publisher: Wayz Press
ISBN: 1927166187
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 207

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Book Description
Using extensive correspondence from the family of a leading Oamaru family, Letters to Emma tells one story of how New Zealand was built in the later years of the nineteenth century.

Pearly Gates

Pearly Gates PDF Author: Owen Marshall
Publisher: Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited
ISBN: 014377316X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 313

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Book Description
This entertaining and insightful novel both skewers and celebrates small-town New Zealand. Pat `Pearly' Gates has achieved a lot in his life and evinces considerable satisfaction in his achievements. He has a reputation as a former Otago rugby player and believes he would have been an All Black but for sporting injuries. He runs a successful real-estate agency in a provincial South Island town, of which he is the second-term mayor. Popular, happily married, well established, he cuts an impressive figure, especially in his own eyes. But will his pride and complacency come before a fall?

Sojourn in Arles

Sojourn in Arles PDF Author: Owen Marshall
Publisher: Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited
ISBN: 1869799585
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 21

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Book Description
A chance encounter leads to an appreciation of the spontaneous and passing friendship of strangers in this evocative short story from one of New Zealand's finest writers. David Wilson takes a trip around Europe after the death of his wife. With limited funds, he accepts the offer from a stranger to stay in his apartment in Arles. For David it is a chance to put himself on hold and live as someone else. Brilliantly tracking David's shifting sense of himself, this story captures time, place and mood with appealing subtlety and precision.

Drybread

Drybread PDF Author: Owen Marshall
Publisher: Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited
ISBN: 1869790758
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
Rich and subtle, this is a compelling novel from one of New Zealand's finest writers. It is a moving study of love and disappointment, of the harm we do to each other, knowingly and unknowingly, of the power and significance of landscape in our lives. A graveyard is all that's left of the remote Central Otago settlement of Drybread, which miners, often hungry and disappointed, once searched for gold. It is to an old cottage nearby that Penny Maine-King flees with her young son, defying a Californian court order awarding custody of the child to her estranged husband. And seeking her in this austere, burnt country is journalist Theo Esler. He is after a story, but he discovers something far more personal and significant.

The Author's Cut

The Author's Cut PDF Author: Owen Marshall
Publisher: Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited
ISBN: 0143774840
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
Chosen by the author from his thirteen previous collections, this latest selection of stories includes 'Coming Home in the Dark', the inspiration for a new feature film. Owen Marshall is regarded as one of our finest living writers. His stories capture the imagination and refuse to let go. From dark to funny, acerbic to warm, they probe our national psyche with clear-eyed insight. This selection from a long career ranges across New Zealand and ventures overseas; the pieces explore both cruelty and love; they look back to childhood and also capture the world we live in today. Full of unexpected turns, lyrical writing, wry observations and intriguing plots, this sampling offers a provocative take on New Zealand. `I very much envy his ability to lay things down in such a way that each one has its natural weight and place, without any straining and heaving.' - Maurice Gee, Sport 'Owen Marshall has established himself as one of the masters of the short story' - Livres Hebdo, Paris

Politics and Society

Politics and Society PDF Author: Peter Gordon
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1134269056
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 698

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Book Description
a valuable source of social commentary at a time of great change wide ranging - from women's issues to colonisation Gordon is well known - Emeritus Professor at the University of London Institute of Education

New Stories

New Stories PDF Author: Owen Marshall
Publisher: Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited
ISBN: 1776954076
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 349

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Book Description
‘So much is chance, don’t you think?’ Accidental meetings, unexpected turns in the road, job offers that take you into new territories: our lives seem arbitrary and unpredictable, as if at the whim of the god of fortune. In this latest, stunning collection of short stories by acclaimed writer Owen Marshall, people teeter on the brink of experience. From murder to an affair, to a promotion or a breakdown, the array of vivid characters aren’t always aware of what they encounter, not sure whether they are being given an opportunity, a challenge, a temptation, a lesson, or just another day to get through. Meanwhile, feelings of fear, lust, curiosity and frustration simmer beneath the surface. Will the people grasp what life throws at them? ‘What are the chances, aye? One in a million or more, like being struck by lightning or having a satellite fall on you, yet it has to happen to someone.’