The Open World

Elizabeth Smith seems a respectable widow, sailing to New Zealand in 1841, along with a group of early settlers and missionaries. Under the watchful and disapproving eye of Bishop Selwyn and Judge Martin, Elizabeth tries to establish herself in this new country, helping run a hospital for local Maori, while acting as both father and mother to her two sons. But she has secrets in her past, secrets that she won’t reveal even to her sons, despite their eagerness to know about their father. It is only on her return to London that the truth might be revealed… This fascinating novel is based on a real woman and the community she lived among in 1840s New Zealand. Reconstructed and re-imagined by her great-great-great granddaughter.