The autobiography of New Zealand's most significant writer. Introduced by Jane Campion, who made it into a prize-winning film.
'One of the most beautiful and moving books I have ever read . . . A masterpiece . . . Janet's autobiography had an enormous effect on me. She struck a blow right to my heart' JANE CAMPION, GUARDIAN
New Zealand's preeminent writer Janet Frame brings the skill of an extraordinary novelist and poet to these vivid and haunting recollections, gathered here for the first time in a single volume. From a childhood and adolescence spent in a poor but intellectually intense railway family, through life as a student, and years of incarceration in mental hospitals, eventually followed by her entry into the saving world of writers and the "Mirror City" that sustains them, we are given not only a record of the events of a life, but also "the transformation of ordinary facts and ideas into a shining palace of mirrors."
Frame's journey of self-discovery, from New Zealand to London, to Paris and Barcelona, and then home again, is a heartfelt and courageous account of a writer's beginnings as well as one woman's personal struggle to survive.
This book contains selections from the long out-of-print collection entitled Janet Frame: An Autobiography (George Brazillier, 1991), which itself was originally published in three volumes: To the Is-land, An Angel at My Table, and The Envoy from Mirror City.
One of the great autobiographies written in the twentieth century . . . A journey from luminous childhood, through the dark experiences of supposed madness, to the renewal of her life through writing . . . a heroic story, and told with such engaging tone, humorous perspective and imaginative power ― Sunday Times
One of the most beautiful and moving books I have ever read . . . A masterpiece . . . Janet's autobiography had an enormous effect on me. She struck a blow right to my heart ― Guardian
Irresistibly readable, commendably honest, and, as a lesson in how courage and the will to survive defeated the effects of a ghastly mistake, inspiring ― Times Literary Supplement
Janet Frame's luminous words are the more precious because they were snatched from the jaws of the disaster of her early life. It is one of the classics of autobiography. She knew that a writer must search her soul in order to say anything that is essential
The Janet Frame of An Angel at My Table is a writer of exceptional sensitivity ― Los Angeles Times
Janet Frame is the greatest New Zealand writer. She is utterly herself. Any one of her books could be published today and it would be ground-breaking -- Eleanor Catton
About the Author
Janet Frame (1924-2004) is New Zealand's most famous writer. She was a novelist, poet, essayist and short-story writer. She sought the support and company of fellow writers and set out single-mindedly and courageously to achieve her goal of being a writer. She wrote her first novel, Owls Do Cry while staying with her mentor Frank Sargeson, and then left New Zealand, not to return for seven years.
Her autobiography inspired Jane Campion's acclaimed film, An Angel at My Table. She was an honorary foreign member of the American Academy of Arts and Literature and won the Commonwealth Literature Prize. In 1983 she was awarded the CBE.
