DescriptionGraphic novel, hardcover formatRead an extract (opens a PDF file)ReviewsCristina Sanders ~ The book itself feels like a treasure, a brand new presentation of an old world, with heavy shiny paper, crisp print and a sharp layout, illustrating a family story from the 1850s to the current day. There are old photos and copies of telegrams, letters, tickets, and all sorts of ephemera, full-page background designs in a range of heightened sepia and all overlaid with panel-squares of exquisite drawings and minimal text, just enough to tie a story through all the pictures. And what a story.The author’s real life inspirationThe initial idea for The Writing Desk sprang from author and illustrator Di Morris having access to a wealth of ephemera, letters, postcards and disparate family tree records that had been given to her over many years.She says, ‘I found the life of Elsie Balfour especially intriguing. The more I discovered and pieced together through research about what her life must have involved, the more I felt that her story as an early pioneer of female medical education was undoubtedly a special one and needed to be told to a wider audience.’Morris developed a fascination with the graphic novel format, so she decided to pursue her Masters. It was at this point that everything came together, and the family memorabilia morphed into this engrossing and exquisite illustrated story.As a young woman, Elsie excelled academically and was encouraged by her proud father to undertake medical studies at Otago University. The sisters’ lives diverge when Elsie leaves for Scotland to study at Edinburgh University, which was a remarkable achievement for a woman at that time. Elsie graduated as a Doctor of Medicine in 1902. Margaret, the eldest, remained at home, working in her expected role as a domestic help to her mother and carer for her many siblings. However, the trajectory of both their lives changed forever when a tragedy befell them.The story in The Writing Desk is supported with stunning detailed illustrations and accompanying family photographs with historical elements that reflect the fashions, hairstyles, settings and daily lives of the characters. These connections to their era make this book particularly immersive. The images of real treasures and everyday items reinforce the fact that the events of the story were very real indeed.Morris says, ‘I found it personally rewarding when family members told me that the graphic novel format made our family history much clearer to them and that they can now identify with, distinguish between, and recognise the characters as their relatives. Additionally, older women unconnected to my family have found many points of connection to their own family histories, whether it be recognising similar artefacts that their grandparents owned, or in the similar colonial origins, hardship and experiences.’About the Kiwi authorDi Morris was born in Kirikiriroa Hamilton, Aotearoa New Zealand. She grew up in Te Matau-a-Maui Hawkes Bay, studied Fine Arts at Te Whare Wananga o Waitaha University of Canterbury, followed by a Master of Design from Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington. In the 1980s and ’90s she worked as a graphic designer and art director in Sydney, Australia, before returning home to Aotearoa New Zealand in 2001. Di teaches secondary school design and photography, and in her spare time she gardens and illustrates. She lives in Hawkes Bay with her free-range chickens.
