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Wellington-based photographer Bev Short has spent more than two years travelling the length and breadth of New Zealand capturing images of women who inspire her. From a Carmelite nun to Olympic sportswoman Barbara Kendall ironing in her curlers – the result is a collection of original and intimate portraits capturing the essence of Kiwi women.

Fiona Kidman is one of the women featured in this exhibition.

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Continue reading »]]> My friend, Nelly Gillet, was on the Paris métro recently when she glanced up and saw that the woman next to her was reading Rescapée, the French version of my novel The Captive Wife. They immediately struck up a conversation. Nelly explained that she knew me and asked if she might take a photo because I would appreciate that the book is read on the métro.

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‘I was enchanted by Beside the Dark Pool. As well as the dazzling prose there is the author’s frankness and honesty about all aspects of her life.’ Beatties Book Blog

‘This latest instalment is just as engrossing [as 'At the end of Darwin Road], a rich mix of anecdote, diary entry, narrative, literary reflection, along with social and political history….It’s a book in which recollections and incidents are consistently offered to the reader with an objective, factual scrutiny enriched by the author’s well-recognised superlative prose. ‘ NZ Herald

‘Kidman’s recounted experience as daughter, niece, wife, mother, grandmother – through 30 years of work, career and family tensions, political activism, writers friendships and feuds, eldercare, childcare – seems carefully judged. Nonetheless her services to literature now include a self-giving that goes beyond her championing of writers and the written word.’ Listener

‘Moments of decision. Standing on a lonely shore and experiencing the vastness of opportunity, the smallness of safe places. Choosing a heroine, a model or making your own important contribution – never mind the opposition – and coping with the fallout later. The abandonment and exhilaration of standing on the front lines of protest. Love. Friendship. Grief. And lines poetry always to hand.’ (With thanks to Paradoxical Cat blog)

‘The stuff of her family is incredibly moving -Fiona’s relationship with Ian [he contributes some marvellous stories directly to the narrative] especially their trips overseas together, and especially trips to Asia. A visit to Greece to find her son’s birth father is another highlight.’ (With thanks to Mary McCallum who launched Beside the Dark Pool at the French Embassy in June 2009)

‘This is a courageous book, with a clarity of description and an acceptance of her own foibles and those of others, that moves the reader to a deeper understanding of the circumstances described.’ Manawatu Standard

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“Fiona Kidman finds the extraordinary in the ordinary, taking her fairly conventional Kiwi life and spinning it into gold.” Margie Thomson, Next

“The more I read, the more I realized, that this book is so much more than the story of one of our celebrated writers – it is a social commentary of the times as well as a very honest personal account of Kidman’s experiences. She pulls no punches, doesn’t pretend that life is always easy, nor does she reveal any tendency to self-pity on these pages.”  Mandy Evans Marlborough Express

“She moves beyond family history to share reflections on 45 years as a modern woman writer, stating that: “What I have to tell is largely a personal narrative about how I came to inhabit a fictional world.’ This is like the autobiography of Mansfield that we do not have….Kidman also celebrates the significance of her very special partner (Ian Kidman), gives bracing insights into adopting children and acknowledges female role models.”  Bruce Harding The Press, Christchurch

“In this book, At The end of Darwin Road, we have Fiona’s own revelation of the person behind the writing – and as would be expected it is original but not self absorbed, honest without parading the sensational, or showing vindictiveness. It is reflective, perceptive and encompasses all aspects of life, not just artistic concerns. It is a story fascinating in itself, but also one that gives us a greater understanding of her writing. It is a story in which many women in particular will see reflections of themselves.” Owen Marshall, launching At the end of Darwin Road at Circa Theare, March 14 2008

“Frank, revealing, engaging, compelling, fascinating.” Graham Beattie Beattie’s Book Blog