Fictional writing - New Zealand literature

The novel and the short story

Much fiction of the forties and fifties concentrated on the trials of an isolated individual in a hostile, puritanical society. This theme mirrored the actual struggle of many New Zealand fiction writers to make a living and achieve acceptance. Among those who produced significant novels were expatriates Dan Davin and James Courage, and younger writers including David Ballantyne, Ruth France and Janet Frame. Although Frank Sargeson's 'realist' narrative style with its blunt New Zealand idioms dominated, some fiction writers experimented with impressionism to convey the intensity of individual experience. Maurice Duggan transcended realist conventions in his short stories, drawing on a wide range of textual models, while Helen Shaw was one of several women short story writers who broke free of the prevailing focus on masculine concerns and pursuits.

Writing for children

In the 1940s the School Journals produced by the School Publications Branch of the Department of Education changed in character to focus entirely on high-quality fiction. Many writers had their first stories published in the Journals, and some of the most prominent, including James K. Baxter, Maurice Duggan and Louis Johnson, were editors. However, the best-known children's stories of the 1950s, the Hutu and Kawa series by Avis Acres, achieved their popularity largely through enchanting illustrations.

Popular fiction

Thrillers, romances and other popular writing presented an interesting counterpoint to the concerns of 'serious' fiction. Often these genres supported positive stereotypes about New Zealand and New Zealanders and deliberately avoided analysis of social and political issues, in a calculated attempt to appeal to both a local and international audience. This tradition, which had taken root in the thirties with the work of Nelle Scanlan, Rosemary Rees, Mary Scott and Ngaio Marsh, was carried on by romance novelist Essie Summers and crime novelist Elizabeth Messenger.

By the end of the 1950s, favourable conditions for New Zealand literature had been largely achieved. The time was ripe for emerging writers to challenge, subvert and transcend the concepts of nationhood which had been formulated in the previous decades.