Black Beech and Honeydew by Ngaio Marsh - 2002

Harper Collins Pod. Good. 5.08 x 0.84 x 7.8 inches. Paperback. 2002. 320 pages.<br>The new series of Ngaio Marsh editions concludes wi th a new edition of her autobiography. What sort of person was Ng aio Marsh, whose detective novels made her name known throughout the world? With all the insight and sense of style her readers ha ve come to expect of her, her autobiography reveals the influence s and environment that have shaped her personality. Widely acclai med when first published in 1965, Black Beech and Honeydew is a s ensitive account of Ngaio Marsh's childhood and adolescence in Ch ristchurch and the establishment of her theatre and writing caree rs both there and in the UK. It captures all the joys, fears and hopes of a spirited young woman growing up and transmits an artis t's gradual awareness of the special flavour of life in New Zeala nd and the individual character of its landscape. Fully revised a nd updated in 1981, this new edition is reissued 21 years later a s a commemoration of Ngaio Marsh's life and work. It is a sanguin e, poised, unpretentious, thoughtful and often moving record of a full life, and -- despite its unavailability for nearly 20 years -- has been acclaimed as her most distinguished work. No one who had read and enjoyed any of Ngaio Marsh's 32 novels can afford t o overlook this gifted and charming autobiography. .