Beattie's Book Blog - unofficial homepage of the New Zealand book community

Tuesday, August 02, 2011

Truth and Tales

At last, after the earthquakes and then the snow, the Press Christchurch Writers Festival presents the second in a series of one-off literary sessions. In Truth and Tales one of our finest writers talks to well-known broadcaster Ruth Todd about The Larnachs, which draws on historical references to present a tale of intrigue, morality, judgement and scandal.

Owen Marshall’s subtle and compelling new novel has its origins in the family history of James Mudie Lanarch, the politician and self-made man who built the famous 'castle' on Otago Peninsula. Set in the socially restrictive world of late nineteenth-century Dunedin and Wellington, the story springs vividly to life as Marshall traces the love between Constance, Larnach’s third wife, and his younger son, Dougie, and the slow disintegration of the domineering yet vulnerable figure of Larnach himself.

Owen Marshall is an award-winning novelist, short-story writer and poet, who has written or edited over twenty books to date. In 2002 the University of Canterbury awarded him the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters, and in 2005 appointed him an adjunct professor.