The Story of a New Zealand River

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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.

Contents

Cover of the first edition of The Story of a New Zealand River. The Story of a New Zealand River (1920).djvu
Cover of the first edition of The Story of a New Zealand River.

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]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "WOMAN'S WORLD". Evening Star. 19 June 1920. p. 3. Retrieved 26 September 2025– via Papers Past.
  2. ↑ "JANE MANDER'S NOVEL". Southland Times. 11 June 1938. p. 14. Retrieved 26 September 2025– via Papers Past.
  3. ↑ "N.Z. New Editions". The Press. 25 February 1961. p. 3. Retrieved 26 September 2025– via Papers Past.
  4. ↑ "A MISCELLANY OF REPRINTS AND NEW EDITIONS". The Press. 11 August 1973. p. 10. Retrieved 26 September 2025– via Papers Past.
  5. ↑ "THE STORY OF A N. Z. RIVER". New Zealand Listener. Vol. 27, no. 688. 12 September 1952. p. 7. Retrieved 26 September 2025– via Papers Past.
  6. ↑ "A FINE NEW ZEALAND NOVEL". Sydney Mail. 17 November 1920. p. 13. Retrieved 26 September 2025– via National Library of Australia.
  7. ↑ "LITERATURE". Otago Witness. 31 August 1920. p. 55. Retrieved 26 September 2025– via Papers Past.
  8. ↑ "A LITERARY LOG". Southland Times. 28 August 1920. p. 11. Retrieved 26 September 2025– via Papers Past.
  9. ↑ "THE BEST N.Z. NOVEL". Auckland Star. 29 June 1929. p. 7 (supplement). Retrieved 26 September 2025– via Papers Past.
  10. ↑ "OUR NOVELISTS". New Zealand Herald. 23 November 1929. p. 1 (supplement). Retrieved 26 September 2025– via Papers Past.
  11. ↑ "OUR AUTHORS". Auckland Star. 4 September 1935. p. 10. Retrieved 26 September 2025– via Papers Past.
  12. ↑ "AUTHOR'S WEEK". Otago Daily Times. 24 April 1936. p. 5. Retrieved 26 September 2025– via Papers Past.
  13. ↑ Joan Stevens (1966). The New Zealand Novel 1860-1965. Wellington: A. H. & A. W. Reed. p. 38. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
  14. ↑ Alistair Fox. "Puritanism and the Erotics of Transgression: the New Zealand Influence on Jane Campion's Thematic Imaginary". Archived from the original on 24 October 2007. Retrieved 7 October 2007.
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