Joan Druett
Encyclopedia
Joan Druett is a New Zealand
historian
and novelist, specialising in maritime history
.
, moving to New Zealand's capital city, Wellington
, when she was 16. She gained her Bachelor of Arts
in English literature from the Victoria University of Wellington
, and then worked as a teacher of biology and English literature for many years before publishing her first full-length book when she was 40. She travelled extensively in her 20s - including to Canada, where she lived for a while, Britain and the Middle East.
She went to America as a Fulbright Scholar in 1986, and returned there in 1992 as historian/writer for a museum exhibit, "The Sailing Circle: Seafaring Women of New York," living in Orient, Long Island, where she and her husband, Ron, a maritime artist, were artists in residence at the William Steeple Davis Trust house and studio. While Ron painted and exhibited at galleries such as Mystic Seaport Gallery, she researched and wrote historical novels and books on maritime history. Late 1996 she and Ron returned to New Zealand, and set up house in Wellington in 1997. In 2001 she was the John David Stout Fellow at the Stout Research Centre for New Zealand Studies, Victoria University, and is still an associate.
She is married to Ron Druett and has two sons. Ron is a well-regarded maritime artist and has illustrated many of her histories.
Her first book, Exotic Intruders, was the result of a publisher's request for a book about the introduction to New Zealand of plants and animals by sailing ships. Since then she has written extensively in maritime history - particularly looking at wives at sea - and also historical and maritime novels.
In her later career, she has become best known for her Wiki novels, historical mysteries with a half-Maori seaman protagonist named Wiki Coffin. The Wiki character grew out of her research into real people, including descriptions of a Maori sailor in a midshipman's journal from the first half of the nineteenth century. In addition to the novels, Druett has also published several short stories featuring Wiki Coffin in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine
.
through the Pacific Ocean
by the United States Navy
1838–1842.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and novelist, specialising in maritime history
Maritime history
Maritime history is the study of human activity at sea. It covers a broad thematic element of history that often uses a global approach, although national and regional histories remain predominant...
.
Life
Joan Druett was born in Nelson, and raised in Palmerston NorthPalmerston North
Palmerston North is the main city of the Manawatu-Wanganui region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is an inland city with a population of and is the country's seventh largest city and eighth largest urban area. Palmerston North is located in the eastern Manawatu Plains near the north bank...
, moving to New Zealand's capital city, Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, when she was 16. She gained her Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in English literature from the Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...
, and then worked as a teacher of biology and English literature for many years before publishing her first full-length book when she was 40. She travelled extensively in her 20s - including to Canada, where she lived for a while, Britain and the Middle East.
She went to America as a Fulbright Scholar in 1986, and returned there in 1992 as historian/writer for a museum exhibit, "The Sailing Circle: Seafaring Women of New York," living in Orient, Long Island, where she and her husband, Ron, a maritime artist, were artists in residence at the William Steeple Davis Trust house and studio. While Ron painted and exhibited at galleries such as Mystic Seaport Gallery, she researched and wrote historical novels and books on maritime history. Late 1996 she and Ron returned to New Zealand, and set up house in Wellington in 1997. In 2001 she was the John David Stout Fellow at the Stout Research Centre for New Zealand Studies, Victoria University, and is still an associate.
She is married to Ron Druett and has two sons. Ron is a well-regarded maritime artist and has illustrated many of her histories.
Writing career
While her first novel wasn't published until she was 40 years old, Druett always wanted to write and had written professionally from her teen years. She wrote science fiction stories for American magazines, and stories for a Māori magazine using the pseudonym Jo Friday. She also did some freelance travel-writing.Her first book, Exotic Intruders, was the result of a publisher's request for a book about the introduction to New Zealand of plants and animals by sailing ships. Since then she has written extensively in maritime history - particularly looking at wives at sea - and also historical and maritime novels.
In her later career, she has become best known for her Wiki novels, historical mysteries with a half-Maori seaman protagonist named Wiki Coffin. The Wiki character grew out of her research into real people, including descriptions of a Maori sailor in a midshipman's journal from the first half of the nineteenth century. In addition to the novels, Druett has also published several short stories featuring Wiki Coffin in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine
Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine
Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine is a monthly digest size fiction magazine specializing in crime and detective fiction. AHMM is named for Alfred Hitchcock, the famed director of suspense films and television.-History:...
.
Awards
- c.1983: Hubert Church Award for Exotic Intruders
- c.1983: PENInternational PENPEN International , the worldwide association of writers, was founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere....
Award for Best First Book of Prose in New Zealand for Exotic Intruders - 1986: Fulbright Award to carry out research at museums in New EnglandNew EnglandNew England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
and HawaiiHawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of... - 1992: John Lyman Award for Best Book of American Maritime History for Petticoat Whalers: Whaling Wives at Sea, 1820-1920
- 1998: New York Public LibraryNew York Public LibraryThe New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
's 25 Best Books to Remember for Hen Frigates: Wives of Merchant Captains Under Sail - 2000: L. Byrne Waterman Award, for contributions to maritime history and women's history
- 2001: John David Stout Fellow, Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand
Non-fiction
- (1983) Exotic Intruders: The Introduction of Plants and Animals to New Zealand. Auckland, NZ: Heinemann.
- (1988) Fulbright in New Zealand. Wellington, NZ: NZ-US Educational Foundation.
- (1991) Petticoat Whalers: Whaling Wives at Sea. Auckland, NZ: Collins
- (1992) She Was a Sister Sailor, the Whaling Journals of Mary Brewster, 1845-1851. Mystic Seaport Museum
- (1995) Captain's Daughter, Coasterman's Wife: Carrie Hubbard Davis of Orient. Orient, NY: Oysterponds Historical Society
- (1995) The Sailing Circle, 19th Century Seafaring Women from New York. (With Mary Anne Wallace.) Long Island: Three Village Historical Society & Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum
- (1998) Hen Frigates, Wives of Merchant Captains Under Sail. New York: simon & Schuster
- (2000) She Captains, Heroines and Hellions of the Sea. New York: Simon & Schuster
- (2001) Rough Medicine: Surgeons at Sea Under Sail. New York and London: Routledge.
- (2003) In the Wake of Madness, the Murderous Voyage of the Whaleship Sharon. New York: Algonquin; Auckland: HarperCollins
- (2007) Island of the Lost, Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World. New York: Algonquin; Sydney, Australia: Allen & Unwin
Wiki Coffin series
Historical crime series set during the United States Exploring ExpeditionUnited States Exploring Expedition
The United States Exploring Expedition was an exploring and surveying expedition of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding lands conducted by the United States from 1838 to 1842. The original appointed commanding officer was Commodore Thomas ap Catesby Jones. The voyage was authorized by Congress in...
through the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
by the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
1838–1842.
- A Watery Grave
- Shark Island
- Run Afoul
- Deadly Shoals
- "Brethren of the Sea" (AHMMAlfred Hitchcock's Mystery MagazineAlfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine is a monthly digest size fiction magazine specializing in crime and detective fiction. AHMM is named for Alfred Hitchcock, the famed director of suspense films and television.-History:...
, November 2004) - "Fallen" (AHMMAlfred Hitchcock's Mystery MagazineAlfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine is a monthly digest size fiction magazine specializing in crime and detective fiction. AHMM is named for Alfred Hitchcock, the famed director of suspense films and television.-History:...
, January/February 2006)
External links
- http://www.joan.druett.gen.nz