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Farewell Speech
Three remarkable New Zealand women were rescued from oblivion by this vivid historical novel. Kate Sheppard and Ada Wells, passionate leaders of the women’s suffrage movement, give two highly coloured versions of historic events. Then Bim Wells reveals the dark side of her life as the faithful, least-loved daughter of a famous mother. ‘Rachel McAlpine is one of New Zealand’s liveliest and most purposeful writers. Farewell Speech is an important novel.’ Fay Weldon.
285 pages, Paperback
First published November 29, 2014
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About the author
Rachel McAlpine
36 books2 followersMcAlpine and her five sisters grew up in small-town vicarages in Canterbury, New Zealand. When she was 10 the family moved to Christchurch, where she attended Christchurch Girls High School and Canterbury University, graduating BA and Senior Scholar. She was married twice: to civil engineer Grant McAlpine (1969-1981) and to artist Michael Smither (1988-1992).
After four years in Geneva she moved to Masterton, New Zealand. There she raised four children, taught high school, wrote her first poetry book, and gained a Dip. Ed (Massey University) and B.A. Hons (Victoria University of Wellington).
McAlpine says that her career swerved abruptly in May 1995, when she first saw a web site. As a writer, she immediately realized that traditional writing styles would need to change for this new medium. She began teaching short courses on writing and managing web content in 1996, writing her first book on the topic, Web Word Wizardry, in 1999.
As Curriculum Director of Contented Enterprises, McAlpine created online writing courses. Contented teaches writing skills needed for blogs, social media, intranets, web sites, email, e-learning, and all documents that are managed electronically. Contented courses go beyond the traditional print-based curriculum for business writing: they show how to make content accessible and searchable. McAlpine's courses and conference speeches are original and playful (as befits a poet), while delivering solid information.
Besides her professional work, McAlpine writes two personal blogs. She lives in Wellington, dances with the Crows Feet Dance Collective, walks a lot and does Tai Chi. She also lobbies for plain language communication from government agencies.
~ Wikipedia
After four years in Geneva she moved to Masterton, New Zealand. There she raised four children, taught high school, wrote her first poetry book, and gained a Dip. Ed (Massey University) and B.A. Hons (Victoria University of Wellington).
McAlpine says that her career swerved abruptly in May 1995, when she first saw a web site. As a writer, she immediately realized that traditional writing styles would need to change for this new medium. She began teaching short courses on writing and managing web content in 1996, writing her first book on the topic, Web Word Wizardry, in 1999.
As Curriculum Director of Contented Enterprises, McAlpine created online writing courses. Contented teaches writing skills needed for blogs, social media, intranets, web sites, email, e-learning, and all documents that are managed electronically. Contented courses go beyond the traditional print-based curriculum for business writing: they show how to make content accessible and searchable. McAlpine's courses and conference speeches are original and playful (as befits a poet), while delivering solid information.
Besides her professional work, McAlpine writes two personal blogs. She lives in Wellington, dances with the Crows Feet Dance Collective, walks a lot and does Tai Chi. She also lobbies for plain language communication from government agencies.
~ Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 24, 2016
I found this book fascinating and well-written. It filled in the gaps in my knowledge of Kate Sheppard and Ada Wells not only just securing voting rights for women, but also the many years of effort which followed as they worked for equality, law reform, and better conditions for women and children. My curiosity had been piqued by seeing That Bloody Woman at The Court Theatre. This book is the perfect companion to that performance. It was interesting to read about historical Christchurch - places, people and social attitudes. The perspective of Ada's daughter, Bim, added not just her story to the book, but that of Ada's mother and Bim's observations of Ada. Kate became more human in her chapters.
Displaying 1 of 1 review