Nell, by Dunedin author Penelope Todd, transports readers to the New Zealand high country at the dawn of a new century.
Nell’s childhood, shaped by the vast open landscape, soon faces the pressures of family expectations, her husband Herb’s pride, and the challenges of life on a Maniototo sheep station.
Despite these difficulties, Nell ventures beyond societal limits, discovering the highs and lows of love, the risks of motherhood, and the comfort of friendships.
The seeds of the novel began with the first story she wrote, a poignant family story about a stillborn baby, recounted by Todd’s aunts.
"I think that was such a stark, sort of shocking story and I probably had young children at the time myself.
"I just tried to imagine what it must have been like in those days without modern midwifery care and medical backup."
Inspired by her own family, the novel is a fictionalised account of Nell’s life, beginning with accounts of life on a farm in Central Otago before the setting moves to Dunedin later in the book.
"I see her in my aunts, I see her in my father," she said.
The novel delves into the lived experiences of women in remote rural areas during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
"It’s a reflection of, I think, many women’s lives in that span, in that generation."
