Wrestling with the Angel : A Life of Janet Frame

A beautifully written biography about the talented, reclusive Janet Frame; Janet Frame, born in 1924, came to international attention through her poignant and beautifully written autobiographical series, An Angel at my Table.

New Zealand's most celebrated yet most reclusive author, her early life makes tragic reading: one brother still-born, another epileptic; two sisters dead of heart failure; Frame herself committed to mental hospitals for the best part of a decade.

All this and more propelled Frame into a state of intense depression and suffering.

King's inspiring biography tells the story of a woman who climbed out of an abyss of overwhelming unhappiness to take control of her life and become one of the great writers of her time.

With unprecendented access to Frame's personal papers and to the woman herself, Michael King has fashioned a biography of astonishing intimacy and frankness.

That Frame has previously been known above all else for her reticence makes this achievement all the more remarkable.