The Story of a New Zealand River
1920 novel by Jane Mander
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The Story of a New Zealand River is a 1920 novel by Jane Mander. A romance novel, it deals with the clash between puritanism and pioneering values in early twentieth-century New Zealand society.
Plot
An upper-class Englishwoman has to adjust to living in an isolated timber-mill settlement.
Development and publication history
Mander began writing The Story of a New Zealand River while working in Australia, finishing it in New Zealand in 1912.[1] After being rejected by four London publishers, Mander rewrote the manuscript while studying in the United States in 1915.[1] It was rejected again by Dodd, Mead & Co., before being accepted by John Lane in 1918.[1] After being delayed by strikes, the first American edition was published in 1920, and rapidly sold out. An English edition followed later that year.[1]
After being out of print for many years the book was reissued by Whitcombe & Tombs in 1938,[2] and again in 1961[3] and 1973.[4] In 1952 it was adapted for radio by Oliver Gillespie.[5]
Reception
The Story of a New Zealand River was well-received in America and Australia. It received positive reviews in the New York press,[1] and was called "the best novel which has yet come from our neighbouring Dominion" by the Sydney Mail.[6] It was praised by New Zealand reviewers for its depiction of "vivid human reality"[7] and the clash of the "settled and polished life" with the "crudities and rough strength of a pioneer's world".[8] A decade later, it was recognised as an outstanding New Zealand novel,[9][10] and listed among examples of classic New Zealand literature.[11][12]
Joan Stevens, in her The New Zealand Novel 1860-1965, praises it for its interpretation of the New Zealand setting.[13]
Alistair Fox has argued that The Story of a New Zealand River was a significant influence on the film The Piano (1993) by Jane Campion.[14]