When 18-year-old Kitty Carlisle’s father dies in 1838, her mother is left with little more than the possibility of her beautiful daughter making a good marriage. But when Kitty is compromised by an unscrupulous adventurer, her reputation is destroyed. In disgrace, she is banished to the colonies with her dour missionary uncle and his long-suffering wife.
In the untamed Bay of Islands, missionaries struggle to establish Victorian England across the harbour from the infamous whaling port of Kororareka, Hell-Hole of the Pacific. There Kitty falls in love with Rian Farrell, an aloof and irreverent sea captain, but discovers he has secrets of his own. When shocking events force her to flee the Bay of Islands she takes refuge in Sydney, but her independent heart leads her into a web of illicit sexual liaison, betrayal and death.
Reviews
‘Deborah Challinor’s heroines are always easy to cheer for. As well as being a great book, it’s no great stretch to envision Kitty being developed as a great local drama series too.’ NZ Women’s Weekly, April 2006
‘This book, full of mystery, intrigue, traditional values, illicit sexual liaison, betrayal and death, is hard to put down. From start to finish, the author gives us a lively plot entwined with colonial history, and an insight into Maori and European traditions, values and expectations prevalent of that era.’ Heritage Matters, Winter 2006
‘Kitty is Deborah Challinor’s fifth novel, and in it we experience historical romance writing at its best…Challinor is extraordinarily talented. She knows her New Zealand history well but she never puts it at the centre of her narrative. Her characters do not come across as mere ciphers but as real living people…I enjoyed this book, both for the expertise of the writer and the thrill of good fiction set in earlier days in my homeland.’New Zealand Books, Spring 2007
Author Biography
Deborah Challinor is a freelance writer and historian living in Whakatane. She has completed a bestselling family saga of three historical romances: Tamar, White Feathers and Blue Smoke, and has also written several nonfiction titles, including Who'll Stop the Rain? and Grey Ghosts.
