{"product_id":"nell-penelope-todd-9781738594337","title":"Nell","description":"\u003cp\u003eA captivating novel, conjured from impressions of the author's grandmother, \u003cem\u003e \u003c\/em\u003eeach scene a bright bead in the necklace of Nell's life.\u003cem\u003e \u003c\/em\u003eNell, born into a new century and forged in the freedoms of the high country, yearns for a life that transcends the confines of family expectation. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe grows up riding horseback through the foothills of New Zealand's Southern Alps, and each autumn makes the long trek down country to the winter house. Nell plays her part volunteering during WW1 and the 1920 pandemic. She tests the lively waters of the burgeoning Theosophical society in Dunedin, there meeting a lifelong friend Peggy. There is a seduction, and a romance before she meets Herb. Home from the world war, he has taken up a piece of unproductive land under the soldier settlement scheme. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNewly married, Herb and Nell move into Herb's whare, a mud hut where only a perpetually burning fire can keep the winter cold at bay. Especially when the fog arrives and hoar frost sprouts from every surface, every twig and fence post. Nell soon falls pregnant, but all is not well as the birth approaches.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith a legacy from Nell's father, they buy a Maniototo sheep station flanking Mt Kyeburn and the Dansey's Pass. Nell bears five children. Herb is an uneasy farmer and feels the weight of keeping the farm solvent through the vicissitudes of the Depression, then a second world war.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNell has vowed to keep alive the flame of her inner freedom - a freedom that is tested, by husband Herb's pride and the demands of family life. Herb betrays her trust. Love comes calling and must be reckoned with. There is tragedy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTwo wars, a pandemic and the Depression ensure that Nell cannot escape society's matrix. Is it even possible for a woman of Nell's era to hold her own?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn Nell's experiences, any woman reader will find resonance with her own: as she dares to step beyond bounds; revels and stumbles in love; knows the perils of life in a female body, and of motherhood; as she embraces the consolations of friendship and seeks a worldview that can hold it all. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSpeaking of the experience of writing a novel of her grandmother's life, Todd says: \"I expected gaps and guesswork, but instead found a presence and a life, vivid and corporeal, that unfolded scene by scene.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Penelope Todd\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1738594335\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781738594337\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Cloud Ink Press Ltd\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/12\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 348\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.75lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 7.81h x 5.06w x 0.78d","brand":"Penelope Todd","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":45934198915327,"sku":"9781738594337","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_11448a2c-e6c3-4205-8c42-89eedd4d2532.jpg?v=1721790583","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/nell-penelope-todd-9781738594337","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}