Iris Wilkinson was also an avid writer named Robin Hyde. She was adventurous and stubborn, brave and just a little bit crazy. Her poetry won her acclaim at high
school in the early 1920’s, setting her off into a journalism career and lifetime of writing.
She wrote columns for newspapers, about fashions, feminism and the fate of those living on the streets. This passion for the underdog, sent her across the world searching for stories. Becoming a war correspondent in China was her goal and through sheer grit and determination she was the only foreign female journalist to make it to the front line between China and the invading Japanese.
Iris sees terrible things, poverty, pain and death, and sometimes just by pure luck; survives China. It’s all the more difficult, because not only is she the only woman in many places she goes, but disabled with a stiff knee, and reliance on a walking stick. Still, she climbs mountains, rides donkeys and walks many miles often with only the clothes on her back as possessions.
Her mental health was also challenged by her escapades, and betrayals by those she thought loved her back did the same. But Iris was made of strong stuff, and returns to her homeland of New Zealand to go on to write many novels, non-fiction works and collections of poetry.
A New Zealand trailblazer as brave as any other famous NZ adventurer, Iris Wilkinson should also be regarded as a kiwi treasure.
Philippa Werry is an outstanding writer of children’s and teens historical fiction and picture books, and this verse novel is an exquisite addition to her long list of literary achievements. The research that must have gone into Iris and Me must have been extensive, some of which is included in the rear of the book, showing the reader her source material.
This story in verse is not only beautifully written, but is exciting, dangerous, heart breaking and intriguing. Who is the narrator of this story? I had some ideas along the way but was pleasantly surprised at the truth, and even learnt about the narrator’s origins as he/she told the tale of their beloved companion.
This author’s skill in taking me back to a setting in the past in only a few words, surprised me again and again. I could easily imagine the roar of the Japanese planes overhead, the agony of hospitalised soldiers without medicine or food, or the wonder of looking at a new baby.
A very enjoyable read of determination, love and adventure.
Author – Philippa Werry
Age – 12+
Learn more about the story behind the story here
(2023, The Cuba Press, Ahoy, Wellington, China, NZ, New Zealand, Adventurer, Determination, Grit, Underdog, Feminist, Travel, Verse novel, Historical, True, Non-fiction, War, Japanese soldiers, Mental Health, Baby, Secret, Writing, Journalism, Newspapers, Poverty, Suicide, Hospital)