Bee Dawson: Lady Travellers

By MARGIE THOMSON

Victorian women of all social hues came to New Zealand in the 19th century, to settle, to explore or simply to holiday.

Some of the 12 stories collected here are jolly-what-ho tales of exuberant, privileged and unconventional women with a lust for adventure, such as the Richardson sisters who journeyed to the subantarctic islands in 1908.

Others, such as Constance Astley and Freda Du Faur, were unconventional in other ways. There are some lovely, captivating stories here, and Dawson's research is thorough.

Penguin

$39.95