A History of Crime: The Southern Double-Cross

A History of Crime: The Southern Double-Cross
Dinah Holman
RRP:
NZ$ 34.99
Our Price:
NZ$ 27.99
Trade Paperback
h230 x 153mm - 264pg
26 May 2014 NZ
Locally sourced in NZ eta 4-12 days
9780473272791
Out Of Stock
Currently no stock in-store, stock is sourced to your order
Quantity:
 
 
It is 1887. The young colony of New Zealand is in the grip of a deep depression. Insolvent speculators conspire with corrupt politicians while Maori land slips from the hands of its owners. Into this landscape of barely suppressed conflict steps a young Anglo-French-Maori soprano, visiting New Zealand for the first time. Frederique Bonnell - known to her family as Riki - meets another performer, the Italian tenor Francesco Bartellin. Unofficially, Bartellin has been persuaded to spy on lawyer Thomas Russell and his powerful associates, whose tentacles penetrate the political establishment. Riki is pitched into this treacherous underworld when she witnesses the attempted murder of Kaituhi, a young Maori man apprehended in Russell's shipboard cabin. Kaituhi and Riki are thrown overboard yet manage to save each other's lives. Their plans to expose Russell are complicated by a growing attraction between Riki and Bartellin. There are three murders as a noose of suspicion closes around them. A breathless pursuit through the wilderness leads to further attempts on Riki's life and an unexpected intervention by Signor Bartellin.Mingling timeless themes of misunderstanding and betrayal, A History of Crime interweaves real and fictional crimes in 19th century New Zealand. It explores the seamy side of Victorian society, with echoes that resonate into the present day.
Dinah Holman (nee Fairburn) is a heritage planner, historian and biographer, who has prepared inventories of historic buildings throughout New Zealand. Her novel A History of Crime, the Southern Double-Cross is set in the 1880s, a time of political and economic turmoil and high-level corruption in New Zealand. The novel interweaves real and fictional people and events. Dinah's considerable knowledge of colonial New Zealand is based partly on her ancestors' papers and writings. Her great-great-grandfather, W.T. Fairburn, was a lay missionary who came to New Zealand in 1819 and kept a journal. Her great-grandfather, Edwin Fairburn, a surveyor who designed the road from Auckland to the Bay of Islands, wrote New Zealand's first science fiction novel, The Ships of Tarshish (1867). Dinah chaired the NZ Historic Places Trust 1986-1990, was Director of the Auckland Heritage Trust 1985-88 and a member of the Auckland Institute and Museum Council 1991-94. She has been a member of the Auckland Library Heritage Trust since 1997. She is also Literary Executor for the ARD Fairburn Estate. Dinah was awarded the QSO for Public Service in 1987 and the N.Z. Planning Institute Distinguished Service Award in 1992. She has an M.A. (English Hons) and a Diploma in Town Planning. Her previous books, all non-fiction, are Newmarket Lost and Found (2001 and 2010), which received Highly Commended in the J.M. Sherrin Awards in 2002; Fairburn and Friends (2004); and Bloody Marvellous, a memoir of George Haydn, (2006).

In stock - for items in stock we aim to dispatch the next business day. For delivery in NZ allow 2-5 business days, with rural taking a wee bit longer.

Locally sourced in NZ - stock comes from a NZ supplier with an approximate delivery of 7-15 business days.

International Imports - stock is imported into NZ, depending on air or sea shipping option from the international supplier stock can take 10-30 working days to arrive into NZ. 

Pre-order Titles - delivery will vary depending on where the title is published, if local stock is available in NZ then 5-7 business days, for international imports it can be 10-30 business days. In all cases we will access the quickest supply option.

Delivery Packaging - we ship all items in cardboard sleeves or by box with either packing paper or corn starch chips. (We avoid using plastics bubble bags)

Tracking - Orders are delivered by track and trace courier and are fully insured, tracking information will be sent by email once dispatched.

View our full Order & Delivery information