Beth Gutcheon

First published in 1981 (is that really nearly 50 years ago?!) - this is the story of a young boy, Alex Selky, nearly 7, who goes missing. He leaves his Boston home one morning, after kissing his mother goodbye, and walks to school. But he never arrives.

Lady Barker

First published in 1870, this is an account from Lady Barker of life on a Canterbury sheep farm in the Malvern Hills. It is easy to read, interesting and, at times, funny. Floods, storms, picnics, the routine of the sheep run, pig-hunting and other aspects of her life at the time. 

Elisabeth de Waal

Set in Vienna in the 1950s, the novel follows five people returning to the city they lived in before WWII. It's a novel about exile, return and re-establishing a past life.

Jane Smiley

"Acreage and financing were facts as basic as name and gender in Zebulon County." Lifelong farmer Larry Cook hands his farm down to his daughters, it is strangely out of character.

Irene Nemirovsky

Written in 1941 this novel covers the reaction of ordinary people in France when the country was occupied by the German army. The author died in 1942 in a concentration camp and the manuscript for this novel survived.

Peter Newton

"In my early days, before cars had found their way into the back country, a mustering gang might spend six months without ever going off the place. They had to make their own fun...Most of the tales in this book are about men of those earlier days...".

Gerald Durrell

This is such a classic childhood memoir. A sweet, warm, funny recollection of Durrell and his eccentric family living on the Greek island of Corfu.

Mona Anderson

Mona Anderson recounts her life at the remote Mount Algidus Station. And she does so in warm, witty and engaging style .Published in 1963 this has been a consistent NZ favourite and the first print run of 7,500 sold out in just three days.