Overview

'Janet Frame's luminous words are the more precious because they were snatched from the jaws of the disaster of her early life. It is one of the classics of autobiography. She knew that a writer must search her soul in order to say anything that is essential' HILARY MANTEL One of the great autobiographies of the twentieth century ... A journey from luminous childhood, through the dark experiences of supposed madness, to the renewal of her life through writing fiction. It is a heroic story, and told with such engaging tone, humorous perspective and imaginative power' Michael Holroyd, Sunday Times After being misdiagnosed with schizophrenia as a young woman, Janet Frame spent several years in psychiatric institutions. She escaped undergoing a lobotomy when it was discovered that she had just won a national literary prize. She then went on to become New Zealand's most acclaimed writer. As she says more than once in this autobiography: 'My writing saved me.' This edition contains all three volumes of Frame's autobiography: To the Is-Land, An Angel at My Table and An Envoy from Mirror City. 'One of the most beautiful and moving books I have ever read . . . A masterpiece . . . Janet's autobiography had an enormous effect on me. She struck a blow right to my heart' JANE CAMPION

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9781844086238

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Reviews

One of the great autobiographies written in the 20th century ... A journey from lumionous childhood, through the dark experiences of supposed madness, to the renewal of her life through writing ... a heroic story, and told with such engaging tone, humorous perspective and imaginative power Michael Holroyd, Sunday Times One of the most beautiful and moving books I have ever read ... A masterpiece ... Janet's autobiography had an enormous effect on me. She struck a blow right to my heart Jane Campion Irresistibly readable, commendably honest, and, as a lesson in how courage and the will to survive defeated the effects of a ghastly mistake, inspiring Fleur Adcock, Times Literary Supplement Janet Frame's luminous words are the more precious because they were snatched from the jaws of the disaster of her early life. It is one of the classics of autobiography. She knew that a writer must search her soul in order to say anything that is essent Hilary Mantel

One of the great autobiographies written in the 20th century ... A journey from lumionous childhood, through the dark experiences of supposed madness, to the renewal of her life through writing ... a heroic story, and told with such engaging tone, humorous perspective and imaginative power - Michael Holroyd, Sunday Times One of the most beautiful and moving books I have ever read . . . A masterpiece . . . Janet's autobiography had an enormous effect on me. She struck a blow right to my heart - Jane Campion Irresistibly readable, commendably honest, and, as a lesson in how courage and the will to survive defeated the effects of a ghastly mistake, inspiring - Fleur Adcock, Times Literary Supplement Janet Frame's luminous words are the more precious because they were snatched from the jaws of the disaster of her early life. It is one of the classics of autobiography. She knew that a writer must search her soul in order to say anything that is essent - Hilary Mantel

'One of the great autobiographies written in the 20th century ... A journey from lumionous childhood, through the dark experiences of supposed madness, to the renewal of her life through writing ... a heroic story, and told with such engaging tone, humorous perspective and imaginative power' Michael Holroyd, Sunday Times 'One of the most beautiful and moving books I have ever read ... A masterpiece ... Janet's autobiography had an enormous effect on me. She struck a blow right to my heart' Jane Campion 'Irresistibly readable, commendably honest, and, as a lesson in how courage and the will to survive defeated the effects of a ghastly mistake, inspiring' Fleur Adcock, Times Literary Supplement 'Janet Frame's luminous words are the more precious because they were snatched from the jaws of the disaster of her early life. It is one of the classics of autobiography. She knew that a writer must search her soul in order to say anything that is essentially true and anything that really matters; she also lived this difficulty. And yet to read her is no more difficult than dreaming' Hilary Mantel 'Drawing on the poetic vocabulary of Longfellow, Whitman and Brooke, Janet Frame perceived from an early age the simultaneously inspirational and destructive power of words, as well as the shifting nature of truth ... One of our most acclaimed writers' Observer 'Among New Zealand's poets, essayist and novelists, Janet Frame must stand alone. Her novels reverberate with dark originality; her poems are spare yet unsparingly deep... She brings to being a sense of the lushness of the earth, and an awareness of the importance of proper wonder ... This stunning autobiography ... Is Jane Frame's most heroic work' SCOTSMAN

Author Information

Janet Frame (1924-2004) is New Zealand's most famous writer. She was a novelist, poet, essayist and short-story writer. Her autobiography inspired Jane Campion's acclaimed film, 'An Angel at My Table'. She was an honorary foreign member of the American Academy of Arts and Literature and won the Commonwealth Literature Prize. In 1983 she was awarded the CBE.

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