The NZ
Colonial Text series is pleased to announce the publication last week of its
fifth title. Mary Anne Colclough's _Alone in the World_ was originally
published serially and as a single-volume book by the _Auckland Herald_ in
1866. Jenny Coleman of Masey University graciously agreed to edit the
text to accompany her fine biography of Colclough, entitled _Polly Plum:
A firm and earnest woman’s advocate_
(Otago University Press, 2017) (http://www.otago.ac.nz/press/books/otago652836.html).
Orphaned and alone, the young
governess Annie Barrington sails to New Zealand in search of her lost brother.
In Auckland, she finds instead a man who offers her happiness, but whose past
hides a dark crime. Also trying to escape the past are Annie’s employer, Mrs.
Willoughby Watkins, and her stylish friend Mrs De Costremonge, who discover
that conquering colonial high society is not as easy as they hoped. Back in
England, Annie’s friend Laura Scott waits in vain for news of her absconded
husband. When Laura receives a fatal letter from the other side of the world,
it threatens to destroy all that Annie holds dear.
Alone in the World was one of the earliest sensation novels published in New
Zealand by one of the country’s most outspoken feminist authors and
journalists.
Copies are
available for $30 (incl postage and GST within NZ) from the Department of
English at the University of Otago (order form online at http://www.otago.ac.nz/english-linguistics/otago666204.pdf
or email english@otago.ac.nz)
