Revue de presse
Reviews: A Respectable Girl
North and South: May 2006
Gutsy Wellington teen writer Fleur Beale (of admirable I am not Esther repute) sets A Respectable Girl in 1860s New Plymouth.
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Vivid and compelling.
The New Zealand Herald: March 2 - March 8 2006
A Respectable Girl is plot-driven yet the main characters and the complications in their personal lives are strongly reminiscent of a classic Jane Austen comedy of manners or a Georgette Heyer novel.
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Hannah is an intelligent, feisty heroine in the mould of Elizabeth Bennet. Her story is sure to appeal to teenage girls (and their big sisters). While the historical background is fascinating, it is the fast-moving story-line that will capture readers' imaginations.
Waikato Times: 18 March 2006
A delightful read, full of detail and surprises.
The Christchurch Press: 18 March 2006
Fleur Beale has always been a strong storyteller but her recent historical novels have been first-rate. A Respectable Girl is set in two very different worlds: mid-Victorian Britain and colonial Taranaki on the brink of war.
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(Hannah's) indignant defence of the colonial virtues in an English drawing room is a delight.
Older readers will particularly enjoy the rich historical detail, the range of personalities and the evocation of the ideas and attitudes of the period.
Quatrième de couverture
My opinions entertained him but he clearly thought that I was not a proper young lady. I tossed my head. I had no desire to be a proper young lady, especially one in an English drawing room. What would it be like to live in England? I would never know.
It is 1859 in the raw new township of New Plymouth where Hannah Carstairs walks between two worlds. To her English father she is Hannah; to her Maori step-mother she is Hana who speaks Maori but only when Papa or her beloved Aunt Frances aren't around.
Soon, Hannah finds that both her worlds are changing. First there are the disturbing hints about her dead mother's past. Then the tensions between the Maori tribes and the settlers boil over into war. Hannah and her twin brother Jamie flee from the fighting. They board a sailing ship and make the long trip to England where they must confront the past.
And perhaps Hannah/Hana will see for herself why her friend's soldier sweetheart believes she is so unsuited to gracing an English drawing room.
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