Courage is like love; it must have hope to nourish it — Napoleon Bonaparte
Inspired by the true story of a colonial pioneer.
In 1863, young Daniel Adin arrives in New Zealand as a trained British soldier, ready to fight the fearless Māori. But the man who emerges from those wars is not the man who sailed in. From soldier to pacifist, Daniel’s transformation spans decades — shaped in no small part by Emma, his Bohemian wife, twenty-four years his junior and formidable in ways he never anticipated.
Emma’s story is as remarkable as Daniel’s. A suffragist, a mother of seven, and a woman who refused — absolutely refused — to send her sons to fight in another war. Together they witness the birth of a nation: the Māori Wars, New Zealand’s suffrage movement of 1893, the shadow of World War One, and the conscientious objectors who carried Daniel’s pacifism into the next generation.
A hundred and thirty years later, Libby is fascinated by the couple who look down at her from aged black-and-white photographs. As she researches their past, she discovers their story is so much more than she ever expected.
Previously published as ‘Daniel’ — a biographical portrayal.
The Disenchanted Soldier stands apart within The New Zealand Immigrant Collection — the dual story of a soldier turned pacifist and the remarkable Bohemian woman who stood beside him. Together Daniel and Emma shaped generations. Six stand-alone books in all, each bringing New Zealand’s extraordinary past gloriously alive.
Praise for The Disenchanted Soldier
I loved this book and so will you if you like historical fiction and family sagas set somewhere you likely know little about. This is beautifully and sensitively written. The characters are terrific. The fascinating part to me was how Vicky was able to take us on the family’s journey in a thoughtful and non-judgmental way.- 5-star Amazon review
New Zealand readers: To request a personally autographed print book, please contact me.