Event
April 20, 2018 posted by Unity Wellington

Lunchtime Event | Dear Oliver: Uncovering a Pākehā History by Peter Wells | In-store Thursday 3rd May, 12-12:45pm

Lunchtime Event | Dear Oliver: Uncovering a Pākehā History by Peter Wells | In-store Thursday 3rd May, 12-12:45pm

Join Unity Books & Massey University Press as Peter Wells discusses his new book

Dear Oliver:

Uncovering a Pakeha History

with Tilly Lloyd



Thursday 3rd May, 12-12:45pm
In-store at Unity Books Wellington, 57 Willis St.


A fresh way to look at New Zealand’s history

When writer and historian Peter Wells found a cache of family letters amongst his elderly mother’s effects, he realised that he had the means of retracing the history of a not-untypical family swept out to New Zealand during the great nineteenth-century human diaspora from Britain. His family experienced the war against Te Kooti, the Boer War, the Napier earthquake of 1931 and the Depression. They rose from servant status to the comforts of the middle class. There was army desertion, suicide, adultery, AIDS, secrets and lies. There was also success, prosperity and social status.

In digging deep into their stories, examining letters from the past and writing a letter to the future, Peter Wells constructs a novel and striking way to view the history of Pākehā New Zealanders.


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Unity Books Wellington - Proudly committed to local writing and publishing since 1967, and dedicated to keeping a dangerous variety of world literature too. 100% independent and Wellington owned. Come check us out at 57 Willis St and ask the staff for a recommendation - we know our books.

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