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Drovers Road
The Drovers Road Collection: Three New Zealand Adventures
Joyce WestWhile her sprained ankle mends, young Gabrielle (Gay, for short) Allan decides to write a book about her home and family life on a New Zealand sheep station. To know horses, sheep, cattle and the land; to interact with local Maoris and wandering Aussies; to ride in the hunt meets, and to fall quite often into adventures of every kind are, at least according to Gay, part of what normal life should be. Readers will move from Drover's Road to the next stage of Gay’s growing-up life, when she comes into an inheritance in Cape Lost, and finally, accompany her through the tensions and rewards that bring her into adulthood in The Golden Country.
448 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2003
4 people are currently reading
35 people want to read
About the author
Joyce West
21 books3 followersJoyce West died in the Tauranga Hospital on February 21, 1985, in her 76th year, after a gallant fight against cancer.
Over four decades her reputation as a writer of teenage adventure books became world wide. Not even Margaret Mahy, following in her footsteps, has had television rights secured by Walt Disney Productions for one hour of television. Joyce West achieved this with her 1970 publication of 'The Sea Islanders', which was also a five-part serial on the BBC. It was a Foyle's Book Club book. There was an American edition by Roy Publishers, and Scholastic Magazines (a world-wide organisation) brought out a special paperback edition for schools in America. The book was translated into German and Danish. The then publishing firm of Blackwood & Paul (New Zealand) did a reprint, the first time a New Zealand publisher had shown interest in her writings.
In 1979 J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd., publishers of all her books through Charles E. Tuttle of Tokyo, and the Japanese publishing firm of Akana Sholes, brought out a Japanese translation of 'The Sea Islands', beautifully illustrated. Joyce West's first book published by Dent in 1953, after 13 publishers, chiefly in her own country had turned her manuscript down, was 'Drover's Road'. It was written out of a series of articles for the now defunct Australian Journal. It had a good press in England, and elsewhere. It went into reprint the same year of publication, and yet again in 1958. In 1963 there was a Pennant publication in what would be a Penguin series today, with the one exception Pennant books were case bound, they were not paperbacks. In between, Joyce West had written and published another two books, 'Year of the Shining Cuckoo' in 1961, and 'Cape Lost' in 1963. 'The Golden Country' followed in 1965 - all published by Dent. Her last book, before illness took over, was 'The River Road', published in 1980.
When interviewed a number of years ago, Joyce West quoted a letter she had received from at least one sympathetic publisher of New Zealand literature at that time. "You must not feel that writing children's books is a sign of arrested development. In publishing circles, writing for children is regarded as one of the most difficult and demanding, and also one of the most valuable branches of writing. Today (by the way) would-be authors don't cut their teeth by writing for children first, then graduating by writing for adults, they remain children's writers".
Joyce West lived in a small cottage surrounded by trees in 18th Avenue, Tauranga. She was born Joyce Tarlton West in Auckland City, her parents travelling much of the North Island, teaching in remote Maori schools. Dredging her memories of childhood days, she said that her father had a background of Kipling's India. In his young days he travelled between Scotland and India, then did accountancy work in South East Asia, where he met and married Joyce's mother in Hong Kong. They lived for a time in Singapore. She mentioned her father as a terrific story-teller, and an avid reader. Her mother, who had a love of books, would read to her daughters a chapter at a time - books were precious in the backblocks, where the only contact with the outside world was a rural mail delivery. Both parents being teachers, they engendered in their family a love of books, and more important, the use of words.
As a child, Joyce West remembered thoroughly enjoying John Bunyan's 'Pilgrims Progress', possibly because it was read to her, or perhaps because all children love fantasy. She remembered, too, that in the house in their childhood years there were fortnightly Harmsworth publications, which much later she bound volumed. 'Countries of the World', 'People of all Nations', The Harmsworth Encyclopaedia, and its Household Volume. There were also magazines, such as Pearson's, Strand, Wide World, to mention a few. "My mother always said that if we as a family hadn't spent so much on books and magazines, we would have been better off'
Over four decades her reputation as a writer of teenage adventure books became world wide. Not even Margaret Mahy, following in her footsteps, has had television rights secured by Walt Disney Productions for one hour of television. Joyce West achieved this with her 1970 publication of 'The Sea Islanders', which was also a five-part serial on the BBC. It was a Foyle's Book Club book. There was an American edition by Roy Publishers, and Scholastic Magazines (a world-wide organisation) brought out a special paperback edition for schools in America. The book was translated into German and Danish. The then publishing firm of Blackwood & Paul (New Zealand) did a reprint, the first time a New Zealand publisher had shown interest in her writings.
In 1979 J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd., publishers of all her books through Charles E. Tuttle of Tokyo, and the Japanese publishing firm of Akana Sholes, brought out a Japanese translation of 'The Sea Islands', beautifully illustrated. Joyce West's first book published by Dent in 1953, after 13 publishers, chiefly in her own country had turned her manuscript down, was 'Drover's Road'. It was written out of a series of articles for the now defunct Australian Journal. It had a good press in England, and elsewhere. It went into reprint the same year of publication, and yet again in 1958. In 1963 there was a Pennant publication in what would be a Penguin series today, with the one exception Pennant books were case bound, they were not paperbacks. In between, Joyce West had written and published another two books, 'Year of the Shining Cuckoo' in 1961, and 'Cape Lost' in 1963. 'The Golden Country' followed in 1965 - all published by Dent. Her last book, before illness took over, was 'The River Road', published in 1980.
When interviewed a number of years ago, Joyce West quoted a letter she had received from at least one sympathetic publisher of New Zealand literature at that time. "You must not feel that writing children's books is a sign of arrested development. In publishing circles, writing for children is regarded as one of the most difficult and demanding, and also one of the most valuable branches of writing. Today (by the way) would-be authors don't cut their teeth by writing for children first, then graduating by writing for adults, they remain children's writers".
Joyce West lived in a small cottage surrounded by trees in 18th Avenue, Tauranga. She was born Joyce Tarlton West in Auckland City, her parents travelling much of the North Island, teaching in remote Maori schools. Dredging her memories of childhood days, she said that her father had a background of Kipling's India. In his young days he travelled between Scotland and India, then did accountancy work in South East Asia, where he met and married Joyce's mother in Hong Kong. They lived for a time in Singapore. She mentioned her father as a terrific story-teller, and an avid reader. Her mother, who had a love of books, would read to her daughters a chapter at a time - books were precious in the backblocks, where the only contact with the outside world was a rural mail delivery. Both parents being teachers, they engendered in their family a love of books, and more important, the use of words.
As a child, Joyce West remembered thoroughly enjoying John Bunyan's 'Pilgrims Progress', possibly because it was read to her, or perhaps because all children love fantasy. She remembered, too, that in the house in their childhood years there were fortnightly Harmsworth publications, which much later she bound volumed. 'Countries of the World', 'People of all Nations', The Harmsworth Encyclopaedia, and its Household Volume. There were also magazines, such as Pearson's, Strand, Wide World, to mention a few. "My mother always said that if we as a family hadn't spent so much on books and magazines, we would have been better off'
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 15, 2015
I absolutely loved this book!!! I fell in love with the characters before they were done explaining who they were. I wish i could say more but what i would say would contain a lot of spoilers.
June 23, 2017
I read this book out loud to my younger kids, and we all loved it. Great characters, interesting setting, wonderfully endearing plot lines—a fantastic story for all ages.
March 9, 2021
This read like Anne of Green Gables, but in New Zealand instead of Prince Edward Island. I rather enjoyed reading about Gay’s adventures, and watching her grow up!
May 3, 2016
I really enjoyed this satisfying story of a girl coming of age in rural New Zealand..I felt I was really 'there' with the girl and her family and friends in all they experienced..the scenery was also well-described, which is really important to me when I read a book. The story was truly wonderful and the ending very satisfying..a great read!
April 22, 2008
I enjoyed this story a lot.
September 2, 2015
Kind of disgustingly wholesome, but nonetheless endearing.
Read
July 29, 2011How very wholesome.
February 11, 2018
Such a lovely book about New Zealand life.
September 27, 2018
This is one of my favorite series. I have read it many times. It is always a joy to pick up. I had the whole collection.
December 14, 2024
Ahhh I loved it.
I'm terrible at writing reviews so I won't say anything else... :D
I'm terrible at writing reviews so I won't say anything else... :D
May 20, 2017
I really enjoyed this book and was quite sad when I finshed it.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews