Traces the life of the controversial New Zealand educator and novelist, and attempts to depict her complex personality
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From Publishers Weekly:
Teacher-novelist Ashton-Warner is revealed in this rich, lively biography as a contradictory figure who, early on, "was never one to let facts cloud the drama of a good story." Although her unorthodox approach to teaching Maori children--formulated on the concept of "key vocabulary" based on native imagery--won her international fame as an innovator, Ashton-Warner frequently expressed her dislike of teaching. This biography, the first book by New Zealand freelancer Wood, supplies factual evidence as to the parallels between Ashton-Warner's ambivalence in areas of her own life and that of the heroines of her novels, especially the bestseller Spinster. We're shown that life on her own terms was a condition set down by Ashton-Warner. She was born in 1906 into an eccentric New Zealand family; she combined a nontraditional marriage with an erratic career as teacher-writer. She thrived on love-hate relationships, was a deeply restless woman, flirtatious even in old age, alcoholic and, yet, as her biographer demonstrates, strangely charismatic. Photos.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherViking Adult
- Publication date1989
- ISBN 10 0670819379
- ISBN 13 9780670819379
- BindingHardcover
- Number of pages296
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Rating