Ngaio Marsh Her Life in Crime

by Joanne Drayton

  My thanks go to those who gave permissions, and to colleagues in libraries, galleries and educational institutions around New Zealand. I would like to extend my thanks especially to the Hon. Judith Tizard MP, Penny Carnaby, Margaret Calder, Chris Szekely, Phillip Rainer, Colleen Slater, David Colquhoun, Amy Watling, Cathy Bentley, Mary Cobeldick, Jill Goodwin, Linda Evans, Alison Laurie, Glenda Gale, Barbara Brownlie, Jocelyn Chalmers, Roger Swanson, John Sullivan, Joan McCracken, Diane Woods, Tania Connelly, David Jones, Susan Bartel, Emerson Vandy, Rachel Underwood, Rebecca Perkins, Amanda Brown, Tim Jones, Chris Bourke, Alison Lloyd-Davies, Jeny Curnow, Malcolm Ott, Matthew Wright, and Rob Osman. I would like to offer a special thank you, also, to Denis Welch, who put me onto some very fruitful Listener leads.

  I am grateful to the staff of the following institutions for their cooperation and assistance in accessing archives, images and information: Radio New Zealand Sound Archives, Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu, E.H. McCormick Research Library—Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, Christchurch Polytechnic, Christchurch Public Library, Auckland Public Library, Wellington Public Library, Victoria University of Wellington Library University, of Sydney Library, National Library of Scotland, HarperCollins Archive (Glasgow), British Library; BBC Sound Archives, British Theatre Library (Victoria and Albert Museum), British Theatre Museum, Mugar Memorial Library Boston, Princeton University Libraries, National Library of Scotland, University of Glasgow Archives, Wodehouse Library in Dulwich, Friends of the Alexander Turnbull Library, St Mary’s College (Wellington), and Westlake Girls’ High (Auckland). I would like to offer special thanks to the staff of St Margaret’s College (Christchurch), particularly to Jillian Kerr, Geraldine Pickles, Diana White and Robyn Gosset, who were so generous in their assistance.

  My grateful thanks goes to the administration, library and Long Black staff at UNITEC who have kindly supported me in my writing of this book. I am also grateful to Dr David Hawkins, Cassandra Barnett, Kathy Barry, Mary-Louise Browne, Dorina Jotti, Gina Ferguson, and Donna Salmon.

  My warmest thanks to Lorain Day, for her vision in taking this project on, and to Kate Stone, Sandra Noakes, Shona Martyn and all the staff at HarperCollins working on this book, and especially to editor Anna Rogers—thank you for sure and steady support, and for your criticism, encouragement and inspiration. At HarperCollins in the London and Glasgow offices, I would like to thank, especially, David Brawn and Felicity Windmill.

  Without the love and support of my family, this book would never have been written. Thank you for your patient acceptance of the sacrifices required. I would like to thank my mother Patricia Drayton, Paul Drayton, Chrissie Thomas and Guy Drayton, Megan Jamieson, and our children Jeremy Thomson and Katherine and Jason Lovelock.

  Copyright

  HarperCollinsPublishers

  First published 2008

  This edition published 2010

  by HarperCollinsPublishers (New Zealand) Limited

  P.O. Box 1, Auckland

  Copyright © Joanne Drayton 2008

  Joanne Drayton asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers.

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  National Library of New Zealand Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

  Drayton, Joanne.

  Ngaio Marsh : her life in crime / Joanne Drayton.

  Includes bibliographical references.

  ISBN 978-1-86950-635-3 (pbk.)

  ISBN: 978-0-730-44566-1 (epub)

  1. Marsh, Ngaio, 1895-1982. 2. Women authors, New Zealand

  —20th century—Biography. 3. Authors, New Zealand—20th

  century—Biography. 4. Women theatrical producers and

  directors—New Zealand—Biography. 5. Theatrical producers

  and directors—New Zealand—Biography. 6. Detective and

  mystery stories—Authorship. I. Titles.

  NZ823.2

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