Incense to Idols

by Sylvia Ashton-Warner

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1960

About the author

Ashton-Warner was born on 17 December 1908, in Stratford, New Zealand. She spent many years teaching Māori children, using stimulating and often pioneering techniques which she wrote about in her 1963 treatise Teacher and in the various volumes of her autobiography. Her success derived from a commitment to "releasing the native imagery and using it for working material" and her belief that communication must produce a mutual response in order to effect a lasting change. As a novelist, she produced several works mostly centred on strong female characters. Her novel Spinster (1958) was made into the 1961 film Two Loves (also known as The Spinster) starring Shirley MacLaine. She was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to education and literature in the 1982 Queen's Birthday Honours.

Ashton-Warner died on 28 April 1984, in Tauranga. Her life story was adapted for the 1985 biographical film Sylvia, based on her work and writings.

The Faculty of Education library at The University of Auckland—the institution at which Ashton-Warner trained between 1928 and 1929— was named the Sylvia Ashton-Warner Library in 1987 and includes the Sylvia Ashton-Warner Collection.

From Wikipedia

Reviews

[Jewels-PiXie Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading Spinster by Sylvia Ashton Warner I was determined to read more of her work, but it is very hard to come by as ,sadly, much of it is out of print
So managing to acquire a copy of Incense To Idols was an exciting find.
Ashton Warner has a truly distinctive voice. She has a really frantic and erratic way of writing. We are invited into the world of Germaine, stylish and flirtatious. And for quite some time, even though we know there are quite a few men in her life, we have to read in between the lines to see what her relationship is with each of them. And there is a theme of yearning for that which is unobtainable and in her sights is a priest. This is described as a novel about erotic obsession ,but it really isn't erotic ,so if this is something that might deter you , it really isn't erotic at all.
It's difficult to know whether she is helplessly finding herself in dubious encounters, because she is aware of her sexual prowess and her attractiveness to men - or if they are very much who she has knowingly set her intentions on. There is also a lack of discretion that seems to come more from the men and their carelessness, but that seem to pave the way to destruction. She has an eye for detail when it comes to style and seems to dress with specificity for each occasion which is so idiosyncratic that it is quite fetishistic.
It's such a compelling read and each word carefully placed even though it feels haphazardly so, so that we become intoxicated just as breathing in the incense in the title itself.
Germaine feels very much like a woman who is driven by her own romantic ideals and compulsions and thinks little of those who will be affected by her actions.
She wants what she desires and so she will have exactly that and nothing less. And she has an insatiable appetite to be wanted.
SAW writes in a way that's like watching the fascinating workings of a spider fast spinning it's meticulous and functional Web, beatific and arresting. I don't want to say too much about the plot because I think it's one that enthralls with it's gradual unravelling.
This book isn't given as much recognition as Spinster but I really don't understand why. Her voice is so original and incredibly poetic and the plot is a flurry of captivating chaos. And Germaine's psychological undoing draws one in, in a way where the destination isn't so easily determined.
Like that Web, when the morning dew hits it and it shines with brilliance, this meets you with the same glistening magic.