“Would you not like to try all sorts of lives - one is so very small - but that is the satisfaction of writing - one can impersonate so many people.” - Katherine Mansfield
Most of us likely remember their first encounters with New Zealand novels; school. I for one, have fond memories of studying the short story The Doll's House by Katherine Mansfield back in the day. Even though it was set and written in a New Zealand 85 years earlier than when I was reading it, I loved the flavours of Aotearoa that came through.
The first pieces of New Zealand fiction came about fairly quickly, with the first novels by 'New Zealanders' being published in the 1860s. From there, we see the genre evolving along with us, with romances taking centre-stage in the 1880s to the 1910s, and Kiwi women asserting their place in fiction in the 1920s and 1930s. 'Kiwi bloke fiction' gets a long stint from the 1930s, before women resurge again in the 1970s. In the midst of all of this, in the 1950s Māori writers begin to add their fiction to our collective, bringing with them masterpieces from authors like Witi Ihimaera.
With that bit of background, we have a selection of large print and audiobook formats of classic and contemporary New Zealand fiction to celebrate our home-grown novels. We often have borrowable copies available, but you can always check out our reference copies of New Zealand works at the Aotearoa New Zealand Collection at Tuakiri | Identity, Level 2, Tūranga
A selection classic and contemporary New Zealand fiction, in both large print and audio formats.
- Read more about the history of New Zealand fiction at Te Ara Encyclopedia.
- See more about services for older adults.
- Browse more large print in our catalogue.
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