166:
198:
The first novel is narrated by the eighty-year-old George Plumb, not in chronological order but by looking back through his own memories, and covering the 1890s to the 1940s. He is a
Presbyterian clergyman with an unyielding and stern personality and a strong belief in his own principles, who becomes
194:
and subsequent imprisonment, although Gee gave Plumb "three months more in jail" because "14 months seemed to fit better into my time scheme than 11 months". In the author's note to the novel, Gee further explains that Plumb's character, career, opinions, and early life with his wife, are much like
157:(1983). The trilogy follows the lives of a New Zealand family across three generations, exploring the impacts of history, politics and religion on the family, and has been described by New Zealand writers and literary critics as one of the greatest achievements in New Zealand literature.
260:, noted the inspiration of Chapple, and said he suspected that much of the novel's power came "from the fact that Maurice Gee is trying to seek out the good in a man with whose fundamental precepts he is in disagreement". He praised the novel's ending as "perfect".
181:
in 1976, at age 45, after moving from
Auckland to Nelson with his wife and family and earning a Literary Fund Scholarship that allowed him to begin writing full-time. He had wanted to write a novel about his grandfather, controversial Presbyterian minister
331:
that "Gee comes across as a gently unsentimental, especially economical observer of lives ... with a clear-headed realism about human motive that's steadily appealing and frequently even moving". Michael
Leapman in the
326:
had not been published in the United States, but said the reader would "slowly warm" to the story, especially to Meg, and that it was "far more subtle and thoughtful than most family sagas". It said of
651:
207:, and he and his late wife Edie had twelve children. His beliefs lead to sacrifices being made both by himself and his family, and to a fractured relationship with his children. The second novel,
297:
as well, highlighting the many strengths of the three novels and in particular their examination "of the fortitude, the brevity, and much of the destruction in well-meaning lives".
270:
observed that, while "the history of the moral struggles of a
Presbyterian Minister in New Zealand does not sound very enticing", it made for "unexpectedly riveting reading".
217:
novel. The third novel is about Meg's son, Raymond Sole, a journalist, and his relationship with his cousin Duggie Plumb, a corrupt politician. The trilogy is largely set in
33:
590:
1136:
1151:
385:
to be the best New
Zealand novel of the last fifty years. In response, Gee said: "I don’t think 'top' can be measured but it's good to know that
1029:
988:
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were not enough for Gee to live off, so he branched out into children's books and television writing. He did, however, complete the sequels
546:
250:, called it a "fine novel, Gee's best so far", and felt it signalled "a new maturity in New Zealand fiction". In the United Kingdom,
420:
361:
373:
365:
1156:
293:, felt it was an "immensely satisfying work", speaking in "what is unmistakably a new voice". He subsequently reviewed
32:
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186:, for many years. The character George Plumb is closely based on Chapple, particularly his early life, his trials for
222:
652:"Maurice Gee on his mother's thwarted writing career, his messy adolescence and how he met the love of his life"
1085:
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954:
342:
a reader would have to have "a familiarity with New
Zealand politics since 1950 and a taste for the sordid".
1013:
554:
498:
377:
of readers' favourite New
Zealand books of the past 30 years, second only to the collected autobiography of
241:
105:
218:
371:
The series continues to be widely read in New
Zealand. In 2006, the trilogy came second in a poll run by
1141:
244:
in 1979. Contemporary reviews were positive. David
Dowling, writing in the New Zealand literary journal
211:, is narrated by George's youngest daughter Meg (based on Gee's own mother), and is a coming of age or
389:
is remembered and that people enjoy it. Actually, I can be more enthusiastic than that: I'm chuffed."
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his grandfather's own history, but that Plumb's domestic life and children are "largely imaginary".
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Somerset, Guy (16 September 2006). "Our favourite NZ books of the past 30 years".
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is considered one of the best novels ever written in New
Zealand. It won the 1978
273:
Despite selling well by the standards of New Zealand fiction, sales figures from
378:
261:
204:
142:
68:
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680:. Auckland, NZ: Oxford University Press in association with Faber and Faber.
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591:"The 50 best New Zealand books of the past 50 years: The official listicle"
165:
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191:
763:
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In addition to being published in New Zealand and the United Kingdom,
1061:"Fiction winners – Winners of the James Tait Black Prize for Fiction"
187:
622:
164:
141:
trilogy is a series of three novels written by New Zealand author
551:
The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century Literature in English
732:
Seymour-Smith, Martin (4 November 1978). "Games of Chance".
345:
In 1995, the trilogy was published in a single volume by
364:
in the UK, and the top prize for fiction at both the
285:, published in 1983. Both novels were well-reviewed.
381:. In 2018, fifty New Zealand literary experts voted
880:(1st U.S. ed.). New York: St. Martin's Press.
764:"Beyond Realism: Maurice Gee and a Critical Praxis"
125:
92:
84:
74:
64:
747:Bawden, Nina (9 November 1978). "Recent Fiction".
173:, the inspiration for the character George Plumb
1010:The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature
495:The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature
338:was less impressed, saying that to appreciate
1008:. In Robinson, Roger; Wattie, Nelson (eds.).
493:. In Robinson, Roger; Wattie, Nelson (eds.).
406:
404:
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8:
308:were also published in the United States by
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368:and the New Zealand Book Awards in 1979.
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20:
623:"Maurice Gee: Our Superb Storyteller"
7:
1022:10.1093/acref/9780195583489.001.0001
953:Leapman, Michael (15 January 1984).
507:10.1093/acref/9780195583489.001.0001
650:Matthews, Philip (6 October 2018).
366:Goodman Fielder Wattie Book Awards
318:noted the difficulty in reviewing
14:
768:Journal of New Zealand Literature
312:, in 1981 and 1983 respectively.
855:. New York: St. Martin's Press.
621:Johnston, Andrew (3 July 1993).
1137:20th-century New Zealand novels
983:. Auckland, NZ: Penguin Books.
955:"Comic Failure, Grim Obsession"
362:James Tait Black Memorial Prize
1152:Book series introduced in 1978
820:Hill, David (September 1983).
254:, reviewing the novel for the
1:
701:Dowling, David (March 1979).
545:Stringer, Jenny, ed. (2005).
240:in 1978, and in Auckland by
465:. London: Faber and Faber.
440:. London: Faber and Faber.
415:. London: Faber and Faber.
236:was published in London by
1173:
789:Hill, David (March 1982).
281:, published in 1981, and
39:
30:
16:New Zealand novel trilogy
1090:New Zealand Book Awards
1065:University of Edinburgh
1014:Oxford University Press
1004:Wattie, Nelson (2006).
822:"Reviews – Maurice Gee"
791:"Reviews – Maurice Gee"
555:Oxford University Press
499:Oxford University Press
489:Wattie, Nelson (2006).
242:Oxford University Press
161:Background and overview
106:Oxford University Press
762:James, Trevor (1996).
225:, where Gee grew up.
174:
979:Gee, Maurice (1995).
876:Gee, Maurice (1983).
851:Gee, Maurice (1981).
676:Gee, Maurice (1979).
461:Gee, Maurice (1983).
436:Gee, Maurice (1981).
411:Gee, Maurice (1978).
168:
1157:Books by Maurice Gee
1086:"Past Winners: 1979"
252:Martin Seymour-Smith
751:. No. 38, 393.
749:The Daily Telegraph
736:. No. 27, 706.
229:Publication history
192:seditious utterance
79:New Zealand English
27:
1147:Family saga novels
177:Gee began writing
175:
169:Gee's grandfather
1112:The Dominion Post
1031:978-0-1917-3519-6
990:978-0-1402-4798-5
981:The Plumb Trilogy
887:978-0-3127-4261-4
862:978-0-3125-2861-4
687:978-0-1955-8054-9
564:978-0-1917-2757-3
516:978-0-1917-3519-6
472:978-0-571-13017-7
447:978-0-571-11783-3
374:The Dominion Post
353:Awards and legacy
310:St Martin's Press
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116:St Martin's Press
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934:. September 1983
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928:"Sole Survivor"
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908:. February 1981
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1114:. p. ID4.
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1006:"Gee, Maurice"
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597:. 14 May 2018
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1142:Novel series
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1093:. Retrieved
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1132:1978 novels
1095:28 November
1070:28 November
1045:21 November
964:30 November
938:30 November
912:30 November
836:30 November
805:28 November
774:30 November
717:28 November
661:28 November
656:Stuff.co.nz
632:28 November
601:21 November
595:The Spinoff
570:28 November
530:21 November
379:Janet Frame
262:Nina Bawden
205:rationalist
143:Maurice Gee
88:Family saga
69:Maurice Gee
1126:Categories
393:References
287:David Hill
118:(New York)
1040:865265749
770:(14): 111
525:865265749
219:Henderson
129:1978–1983
126:Published
93:Publisher
832:(3): 375
826:Landfall
801:(1): 103
795:Landfall
707:Landfall
703:"Review"
264:for the
247:Landfall
201:pacifist
149:(1978),
102:(London)
75:Language
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491:"Plumb"
26:trilogy
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188:heresy
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383:Plumb
358:Plumb
324:Plumb
322:when
275:Plumb
234:Plumb
221:, in
179:Plumb
147:Plumb
138:Plumb
85:Genre
45:Plumb
24:Plumb
1097:2020
1072:2020
1047:2020
1036:OCLC
1026:ISBN
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682:ISBN
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532:2020
521:OCLC
511:ISBN
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304:and
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22:The
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