The Story of a New Zealand River was the first and most acclaimed novel by Jane Mander, one of New Zealand's most controversial writers. Republished here for a new audience, readers will delight in Mander's liberal views-written in a time when New Zealand was at its most conservative-her social liberalism and her obvious love of Northland. The book views New Zealand settler society through the eyes of Alice, raised as a Puritan in Victorian England, who must face a radically different society in a Northland kauri-milling town. The clash between these views, and between generations, drives a very human story. Mander herself grew up in a similar environment. Her childhood experiences add a great deal to the realism and detail of the book. This new edition also contains a forward describing the author's life and writing by D. B. Hann, New Zealand writer and lecturer.