New Zealand Writers
ELSE, Barbara
Finely judged comedy of cracking pace and sharp wit.
KAPAI: Kids read more about Barbara here
Author entry from The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature, edited by Roger Robinson and Nelson Wattie (1998). [About the Companion entries]
ELSE, Barbara (1947– ), playwright and fiction writer, who has also published as Barbara Neale, was born in Invercargill and educated at Otago University (MA 1969). She has lived in Wellington since 1980, working since 1988 with her husband Chris Else as a literary agent, editor and fiction consultant. She has published short stories in Landfall, Metro, NZ Listener, in anthologies such as Me and Marilyn Monroe (ed. Cathie Dunsford, 1993) and elsewhere, and several on radio, as well as another ten for children.
Her published plays include Night for Clowns (1987) and A Very Short History of the World (1985); four full-length plays have been performed, as have a variety of one-act plays, children’s plays and radio dramas. She has won several awards and grants, including the Aoraki Festival Playwriting Award and support from the New Zealand Literary Fund.
The Warrior Queen (1995), Else’s first novel, was received with enthusiastic acclaim. Kate Wildburn takes subtle, and sometimes unsubtle, revenge on her husband Richard for his affair with another woman. He is a surgeon and the characters are all of the trendy set in Auckland, married to their possessions as much as each other.
Persuaded by a counsellor that her husband’s affair can be no fault of hers, Kate sets out to embarrass him and trip him up at every turn. A series of comic events follows, rich in variety rather than insight, and both parties seem bound to a superficial level of feeling: lust on one side and hurt pride on the other.
Their pursuits are interwoven with the promiscuous affairs of Kate’s sister. It is hard to sympathise with any character but easy to sense cathartic satisfaction in the practical jokes the wife succeeds in playing on her man. The book is notable for its cracking pace and sharp wit. Gingerbread Husbands (1997) is a suburban comedy whose protagonist fends off almost anything from importunate men to furry animals in the laundry.
NW
Updated information
Gingerbread Husbands (1997)was shortlisted for the 1988 Booksellers Choicde BookData Award.
The Warrior Queen (1995) was selected as one of the top twenty books for the 1995 Listener Women's Book Festival. It was shortlisted for the 1996 Montana New Zealand Book Awards.
A third novel, Eating Peacocks (1998) tells the story of the funny, feisty Delia as she copes with the complexities of violent relationships, and the nature of memory.
A "finely judged comedy" writes The Evening Post, featuring the most "hilariously ghastly dinner party in New Zealand fiction."
Three Pretty Widows was published in 2001. After the death of Barnaby Rivers, three lovely women come to terms with their own natures, and their attitudes to men, motherhood and love.
'Else is known as a funny novelist," writes the New Zealand Herald. "Her humour is quieter, deeper, found in her dark, sardonic point of skew, in her quirky, wry vignettes that are a fond satire of modern middle class life and those who live it...".
"From the breathtaking succinct title through to the satisfyingly wrapped-up ending, this is a most skilful, involving and enjoyable read.”
Else's first book for children is Skitterfoot Leaper (1997). Two children, each with problem parents, meet a cat-like creature and pass through a waterfall to a strange winter world.
In 1998 Barbara Else was chosen for a New Zealand and Australia Exchange Writer and also was a visiting writer at Vancouver International Writers' Festival and the Winnipeg International Writers' Festival.
Tricky Situations (1999) tells the story of a "problem consultant", Ms Winsley, who lives in the dull town of Greyvale. The Evening Post judged the novel, suitable of readers aged 6 - 11 years, as 'even funnier than Roald Dahl.' It is illustrated by Trevor Pye.
Barbara Else is also the editor of Grand Stands (2000). It features prominent New Zealand writers writing on the experience of being a grandparent. Contributors include Albert Wendt, Fiona Kidman and Patricia Grace.
Barbara Else was the 1999 Victoria University of Wellington writing fellow.
Another 30 New Zealand Stories for Children (2002) is edited by Barbara Else, with illustrations by David Elliot. This sequel to 30 New Zealand Stories for Children contains stories that are funny and sad, magical and touching.
The Case of the Missing Kitchen (2003) marks a return to the black comedy and family satire that Else made her own in The Warrior Queen. With break-neck pace and deft plotting, this is a wickedly funny take on the thriller genre.
30 Weird & Wonderful New Zealand Stories edited by Barbara Else with illustrations by Philip Webb (2003) is a collection of spooky, hilarious and moving tales which are great for both reading aloud and enjoying by yourself.
Else edited Claws and Jaws, 30 animal stories (Random House, 2004), which was listed as a Children's Literature Foundation of NZ Notable Book in 2005.
Barbara Else was one of three judges for the 2004 New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults
Else participated in the 2004 Book Council WOW (Words on Wheels) tour of the deep South.
Barbara Else was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to literature at the 2005 Queen’s Birthday Honours.
Else has edited two collections of writing for children Like Wallpaper (Random House, 2005), which is an anthology of New Zealand short stories for teenagers, and Mischief and Mayhem: 30 New Zealand Stories (Random House, 2005) for readers aged 7 - 12.
Else's most recent publication is Wild Latitudes (Vintage, 2007), and tells the story of a young woman and her teenage borther who are catapulted from a comfortable life in Yorkshire to life in Dunedin during the Otago gold rush. About the novel Else says: 'It seemed utterly appropriate to set the novel in Dunedin during the gold rush, 1864, a time when the small pious settlement had been violently expanded by an influx of several hundred thousand rough and riotous seekers of fortune, con men, entrepreneurs, self-servers all. In a new country, where you’re thrown on your own resources, you can reinvent yourself as many times as you like – what an image of what happens to each one of us in the teenage years.'
KIDS AUTHORS PICTURES AND INFORMATION
Children’s Questions for Barbara Else:
Where do you live?
On a hill in Lower Hutt, looking straight down the wide and often wild harbour.
What kind of books do you read?
Novels, mostly.
Do you have a favourite author?
This is a very hard question. There are so many good writers. I like whoever tells a good story with interesting characters. Some authors I always enjoy are: Barbara Trapido, Barbara Kingsolver, and Barbara Anderson.
How do you think up your ideas?
It’s more that the idea will find me - like a stray cat that refuses to budge from the doorstep.
What is the best thing about being an author?
Finding out what happens next to the characters you’ve invented, and then rewriting the story to make it more interesting and funnier.
Questions for Primary School Students:
Do you have any pets?
A stroppy, fluffy tabby called Lolita, and several goldfish all with names. My favourite is Glidey Bronson.
What is your favourite colour?
Pink.
A favourite food?
Avocado.
How about a favourite movie?
O Brother, where are thou?
What is the best thing about being a writer?
Writing.
How do you make your books?
I write the stories, then send them to a publisher. The publisher makes the actual books, and pays me for the stories.
Where do you go for your holidays?
I love going to the beach. I also like visiting my daughters. One lives in Dunedin, and the other lives in Auckland.
What was the naughtiest thing you ever did at school?
I’m not telling
Questions from Secondary School:
How did you get started as a writer?
I wanted to see if I could do it, that’s all.
Did any one person inspire you when you were getting started?
Nobody.
What advice would you give someone who wants to be a writer?
Read. Read. Read-read-read. And study literature.
Is it difficult to make a living writing in NZ?
Yes.
What were you like as a teenager?
Shy
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