Past Perfect is part present-day novel, part historical. It is a story of love and loss, prejudice and resolution, as well as the search for selfhood. A fictional story it is set against the well-researched background of the French settlement of Akaroa and its established inhabitants, the Maori.

Sue Spencer embarks on a search for meaning in her life, for a better sense of whom she might be. This is prompted by a brush with mortality, her children approaching adulthood and the relationship with her husband are being tested. Her quest takes her from her home town of Christchurch to Akaroa, to France and back, tracking her genealogy. Her discoveries are unexpected and place further pressure on strained family relationships.

Parallel to Sue’s journey and interwoven with it, is that of her ancestor, Frenchwoman  Brigitte (Bibi) Dujardin. Bibi arrived on the Comte de Paris from Rochefort, France, in 1840, to settle in Akaroa. Bibi’s story is told in letters written to her mother in France.

This is a satisfying novel, which explores the diversity and complexity of our New Zealand heritage.

Sample chapters of Past Perfect are available at the author’s website: http://www.karenzelas.com.