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By: TAUR 060
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2025-05-07 09:51:02 |
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We all felt this book covered information about N.Z. settlement that we didn't know about. Most information tends to focus on settlement in the north, so it was interesting to get a new perspective. Most of us found it a bit of a slog at times, but felt it was worth it to round out our N.Z. history knowledge. |
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By: WHANG 008
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2025-04-14 11:48:54 |
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A very readable and accurate portrayal of early pioneer days in N.Z. and the settlement of Wellington. Great portraits of the personalities of that time, Maori and Pakeha. |
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By: DUNED 036
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2025-03-17 10:12:11 |
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Those who read the book loved reading about the early history of N.Z. Descriptions of places were interesting. Very wordy dialogue. |
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By: CHCH 145
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2025-03-12 10:32:40 |
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A most interesting historical novel. Well-written for a first book. Most of the group enjoyed it. |
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By: DOUBT 001
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2025-02-20 09:46:37 |
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Majority of readers appreciated the historical side of the story. It was not a page turner read but we enjoyed the style of writing, and how it depicted the life of early settlers and Maori. A lot of discussion about the role of women in the day. |
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By: CHCH 257
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2024-07-22 13:42:53 |
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This well researched account of life in early Wellington helped us to examine our current and emerging understanding of the relationship between Maori and new settlers. We also related as to where and when our own ancestors came from. |
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By: HAMIL 032
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2024-06-17 13:44:44 |
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We all enjoyed the book. Informative and interesting. Good lengthy discussion. |
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By: MOSG 004
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2024-06-12 13:55:32 |
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The book group really enjoyed this historical novel. A great read and very thought provoking re our history! |
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By: BLENH 010
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2024-04-22 12:02:10 |
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A very mixed response to this book. Several really loved this very well researched story of early Wellington and colonists. Others were not gripped by it at all. |
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By: BLENH 010
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2024-04-10 17:12:19 |
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This was a polarising book for our group. Some found it lengthy and slow, others quite the opposite. They enjoyed the well researched tale of early Wellington and were interested in the story of real characters from those times. The stories surrounding the Wakefields at the time of colonisation were a revelation at times. |
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By: HAMIL 029
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2024-03-05 11:12:43 |
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We all found this a very interesting book, presenting NZ history in a compelling way. There is the huge Wakefield family of chancers, with a focus on the charming, corrupt, insightful Jerningham. There is the powerful presence of Te Rauparaha. There are the mud, hardships, and frailty of the early settlement of Wellington. And there is the nineteenth century love story involving the fictional characters and dealing with feminist issues of women's powerlessness. There are even a few sex scenes to add spice to history. The accompanying booklet is very useful background reading. |
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By: RICH 009
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2024-02-26 13:02:01 |
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Best book we've read together. Two people are going to buy a copy. Several said they "loved it", and "left me wanting more". |
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By: CHCH 549
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2023-11-23 17:06:31 |
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The consensus of our all-male group was that this book focused on an uninteresting and morally questionable individual and failed to provide more than shallow insights into the title character, Jerningham. The historical setting was interesting but "the Maoris" were described in simplistic ways, without any attempt to present their role in history. |
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By: AUCK 014
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2023-11-02 11:44:31 |
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The group scored this book highly and thought it was fascinating, well-written and researched. A few found it heavy going at the beginning with so many names and code names and so much detail. However it turned into a gripping narrative, and refreshing that the author delved into the personal and psychological states of the characters involved. Overall, easy to read. Would recommend! |
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By: AUCK 189
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2023-08-10 12:04:58 |
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Thoroughly enjoyed by all. Rare consensus. Really gave us a sense of New Zealand at its foundation. Gave us all pause for thought about what was happening to Maori. |
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By: WHANGA 002
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2023-07-24 11:27:29 |
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Our group found 'Jerningham' enjoyable and educational reading. It was well-written. The story intertwined with accurate historic facts made for a great discussion. We recommend 'Jerningham' to other groups. |
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By: ROTO 006
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2023-07-24 09:31:22 |
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A very easy, thought provoking way to read New Zealand history, followed by a very lively discussion on subjects ranging from the Treaty through to 'Votes for Women and their rights'. The whole group loved it. |
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By: CHCH 137
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2023-06-01 14:02:42 |
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Interesting book. 2 didn't enjoy it - too "monotonal" ( a new word possibly!) but the remaining 8 rated it a mix of good to very good. We liked the N.Z. history. By today's standards, we saw Lugg as a hypocrite and Jerningham not so! |
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By: WHITIAN 003
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2023-05-18 10:14:13 |
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Certainly a thought provoking book! Our members were very expressive of their feelings over the supposed supremacy of the New Zealand Company and its employees. To ride roughshod over the Maori owners of the land, the perceived superiority of the British and the general overbearing attitude of the developers of the Colony, was appalling! A good read though! |
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By: RICH 001
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2023-05-11 12:01:58 |
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Several members plan to buy their own copies. One member lives near a very early cemetery where Arthur Lugg has a headstone. A most interesting read for us Nelson people. |
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By: NELS 012
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2023-04-17 11:51:21 |
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A great read - historically interesting and accurate. A real sense of time and place... but could have omitted the sex! |
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By: MAST 008
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2023-03-13 11:44:49 |
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The general comment was that the picture painted for us at school of the New Zealand Company and the Wakefields was very different from the facts. This was an incredibly well-researched and balanced book creating a very descriptive picture of the settlements made, particularly at Nelson and Wellington. Overall, highly recommended. |
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By: WELL 107
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2023-03-13 11:21:26 |
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We all thoroughly enjoyed this book. Richly imagined, well researched and very descriptive of our early settlers. |
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By: AUCK 116
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2023-03-06 13:47:44 |
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We all really liked the book - a fascinating look at N.Z. history, some completely unaware of it. Good characters - real and fictional. |
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By: ASHB 004
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2022-12-15 13:29:35 |
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The group absolutely loved this book - we felt it should be a compulsory read for all N.Z.ers, and on College book lists! The characters were so well-rounded and complex and described so well. It made us realise the random nature of the settling of N.Z. and the deception and lies in the N.Z. Company's dealings with Maori. |
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By: WELL 045
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2022-11-16 13:55:10 |
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Everyone was very engaged with this book. It was well researched and well-written. The book gave a balanced view of the times as it was from an observer's point of view. Being a Wellington group, we could relate to how arduous life would have been for settlers. |
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By: PALMN 022
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2022-08-29 11:18:29 |
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Very polarising book - some members could not tolerate the racism and sexism and didn't finish it. Others enjoyed it and liked the history despite the challenging attitudes of some protagonists. |
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By: MTMA 002
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2022-08-18 14:15:26 |
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It was a small group discussion but we very much enjoyed this book. Great characterisations and the descriptions of early Wellington and beyond brought the story to life. We found we were relating it back to the Wellington of today. |
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By: NEWP 004
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2022-08-15 14:44:50 |
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Thoroughly enjoyed this account of the founding of Wellington, and the Wakefield family. The author was admired for her depth of research although some members felt the writing was a bit "flat" and didn't do justice to rounding out the characters. |
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By: HOKITIK 003
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2022-06-23 10:22:04 |
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Authentic. Great read. Not easy to binge read. Great historical novel covering interesting topics of the time - sexism, poverty, racism amongst others. Lies and manipulation around the Treaty was horrifying. |
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By: RIVER 001
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2022-04-29 12:03:10 |
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This book was enjoyed by most of the group - resulted in a great discussion as colonialism and its effects are rising nowadays. |
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By: WELL 120
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2022-04-11 15:38:45 |
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No meeting due to Covid, but all enjoyed it. |
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