The Queen's Wife

Description

A modern love story- whakapapa, archaeology, art and heartbreak. A memoir of a turbulent time - and a chess game that broke all the rules. In 1989, two married women met by chance. They instantly hit it off, but little did they know that their new relationship would turn their lives upside-down. This is the true story of that relationship, which threatened to cost them their children, families and friends and forced them to reassess their sexuality, identity and heritage. Along the way, one - an acclaimed biographer - was to explore the power of objects, while the other - a painter - was to follow her whakapapa back to the first Maori king, Te Wherowhero. Against the odds, the couple's new life together became rich in laughter, travel, unusual encounters, investigations into Viking raids, the Kingitanga movement, the death of a New Zealand artist, chicken claws, ghosts, eccentrics and much more. A fascinating read on so many levels, this is an important view of our country from its very edge.

Joanne Drayton is an acclaimed New Zealand author whose output is globally recognised. Her book Hudson & Halls- The Food of Love was the winner of the Royal Society Te Aparangi Award for General Non-Fiction at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards in May 2019, and was a cover story for the NZ Listener in October 2018. Joanne's The Search for Anne Perry was numbered in the top 10 non-fiction books on the New York Times BESTSELLER list. It was a finalist in the prestigious New Zealand Book Awards in August 2013, the subject of a 60 Minutes programme and a cover story for the NZ Listener. It is an 'important' and 'beguiling' read that has received excellent reviews. Both The Search for Anne Perry and Hudson & Halls- The Food of Love have been optioned for feature films. Her critically acclaimed Ngaio Marsh- Her Life in Crime (2008) was a Christmas pick of the Independent newspaper when it was released in the UK in 2009. Her other biographies of expatriate painters include Frances Hodgkins- A Private Viewing (Random House, 2005); Rhona Haszard- An Experimental Expatriate NZ Artist (CUP, 2002); and Edith Collier- Her Life and Work (CUP, 1999). She has curated exhibitions and publishes in art history, theory and biography. In 2007, she was awarded a National Library Fellowship, and in 2017 the prestigious Logan Fellowship at the Carey Institute in Upstate New York. Joanne is a research associate at the University of Auckland and an English teacher at Avondale College. She lives in Auckland, New Zealand, with her partner and three cats.