The NZ Colonial Text series is proud to announce Jim Sullivan’s edition of W. M. Southan’s 1881 novel, The Two Laywers.  Set mainly in TImaru, the novel is a Victorian goldfield melodrama that provides a lively sense of its place and time.  Jim’s extensive introduction also demonstrates that truth is definitely stranger than fiction, as he recounts the lives of a number novelists of the day.  The Timaru Herald has published a story on the edition, from which the image here is taken.

10 printed copies are available for purchase from the English and Linguistics programme at Otago for $30.  As soon as those are sold, a PDF version will be released via OURarchive for free.