Scarlet & Magenta: A New Zealand novel about Victorians' deepest secrets

Oh, how could it be such a sin for a woman to have a mind of her own?

In the 1880s, misbehaving wives were asking for trouble. Building a raw new town was hard enough without free-thinking females upsetting local society. Violet arrives in the Bay of Plenty with a scandalous past and an aching heart. She befriends a kindred spirit, Anna, and also catches the eye of footloose Rupert - a friend and business rival of Anna's husband.

In Victorian pioneer towns, it doesn't do to speak your mind or seek unseemly delights. Angry words are soon flying in banks and bedrooms, with reputations and marriages at risk. There are secrets to keep and lost loved ones to find.

"Let me pose this simple question: "What endures longest - blood ties or friendship?"

"My temper is so unpredictable. I keep it buckled down so hard, but then moments erupt that are so provoking it's as if someone has lit a wick in me."

"I was appalled when I heard what had happened. It could have been the end of you. And then I don't know what I would have done.'"

Scarlet and Magenta vividly reveals the trials and pleasures of colonial life and explores the question of what matters most in all of our lives - blood ties or friendship. Set mostly in late 19th century New Zealand, the story also includes telling moments in London, Bombay and Sydney that reveal Britain's eager appetite for sending its citizens out to rule the empire even as far as New Zealand - Victoria's most far-flung colony. And how settlers had to put aside their cultural conditioning from "home" as they struggled to build new lives in places so different from everything they'd left behind.

Shortlisted for the New Zealand Heritage Book Awards, it has been dubbed (by review site nzbooklovers.co.nz) "the perfect blend of romance, history and drama." Lindsey Dawson has use used real-life letters by an ancestor to create this magnificent story.

"Lindsey Dawson has a gift for transporting the reader back in time. Witty and absorbing, filled with strong women and their secrets, this is a real treat for lovers of New Zealand historical fiction." - Author Nicky Pellegrino