I have admired Barbara Ewing as both an actress and then writer since I was a teenager. I was delighted to listen to her speak in the Auckland Writers Festival Winter Series about her memoir.
The memoir is based on her own diaries from the age of twelve until her departure for London to train as an actress in her early twenties. She creates a wonderful sense of time, 1950's New Zealand and the social attitudes and expectations. She paints a picture of her unhappy teenage years where she fails to meet her mother's exacting standards and yet enjoys close companionship with her younger brothers, especially with their mutual love of modern music trends. Upon leaving school she attends Victoria University majoring in English and deciding to take Maori as a foreign language. She had developed a love of the language when staying at Maungatapu during their summer holidays and working in Picton to earn money during semesters.
At University she meets and falls in love with another student, Mikaere Rangi, a Maori who has almost completed his degree. this meets with resistance from her mother especially who is determined to prevent the union.
I found this one of the most interesting aspects of the book, race relations in New Zealand during this time. I now realise that her book, [A Dangerous Vine], is based on her own experiences at this time, so i hope to read it soon. ( )