This novel focuses on two real people: Eliza Raine and her friend Anne Lister, pupils at an English boarding school in the early 1800s. As the background notes at the end helpfully explain, Eliza was born in Madras in 1791 to an East India company surgeon from Yorkshire and the unknown Indian woman he lived with. In 1797, aged six, she and her older sister Jane were shipped to Yorkshire by their father. When he died, in 1800, he left his daughters the substantial sum of £4000 each, providing an income and passing to them when they married or turned 21. Their powerless mother had an allowance until she died two years later.
In 1803, their guardian sent them to Miss Hargrave's Manor School in York to prepare them for wifedom. Eliza was 14 when Lister, born the same year, arrived in 1805 to share her attic bedroom.
Denne historien er fra October 14-20, 2023-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
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Denne historien er fra October 14-20, 2023-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
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First-world problem
Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.
Applying intelligence to AI
I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.
Nazism rears its head
Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.
Staying ahead of the game
Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?
Grasping the nettle
Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.
Hangry? Eat breakfast
People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.
Chemical reaction
Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.
Me and my guitar
Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.
Time is on my side
Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?
The kids are not alright
Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.
