Alfred Augustus Grace

Alfred Augustus Grace (1867 – 18 March 1942) was a New Zealand teacher, journalist and writer. He was born in Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand in 1867. He was born in Auckland, New Zealand in May 1867 and he is the youngest of 12 siblings. His brother Thomas continues his father's missionary work, his brother William become a scholar of Maori, and his brother Lawrence was an interpreter. Grace had held a noticeable part in his local area such as a member of the committee of the Nelson branch of the Navy League, master of the Lodge Victory of Freemasons, and Nelson City Council member. Moreover, he also joined H Battery, New Zealand Regiment of Field Artillery Volunteers in 1902 which then attained the rank of lieutenant colonel of the Canterbury Field Artillery Brigade before his retirement in 1917. Many of Grace's works tell a story of an attractive people that were meant to be failed due to the unavoidable expansion of civilisation. Moreover, Those stories usually portrayed in nostalgic vibes and many of his literature talked about Māori cultures with which he was fascinated. The Auckland Free Lance thought that "His stories possess that warmth of colour and feeling which is sometimes considered to be too strong for the constitution of young persons of our nationality". This literature was printed by A. G. Betts. This was Grace's first mayor publication. The four of the stories are Māori tales and the other twenty-four are not Māori tales but stories that talked about an interaction between people such as Māori, missionaries, merchants and settlers. Since then and until 1998, 9 editions of this novel were published. This book was mention in Kōtare 2008, Special Issue — Essays in New Zealand Literary Biography Series Two: ‘Early Male Prose Writers’ which was located in Alfred Grace, 1867-1942 section. Furthermore, Maoriland: New Zealand Literature 1872–1914 also mentions this novel in the Primary Texts section and also in The New Zealand Novel 1860-1965 on The Maori Again section. This novel is a melodramatic romance with early colonialism as the time frame. Theme of love, sex, and clash of pagan and Christian culture.

Hone Tiki dialogues (1910) Hone Tiki Dialogue was introduced in New Zealand and Australia and published in 1910. This literature was published in Wellington and the publisher of this literature was Gordon & Gotch. It was published 7 more editions until 1999. Hone tiki dialogues have twelve drafts and it was set in Wellington. In it, there is an unnamed narrator who records the conversation with a Māori man named Hone Tiki. The usage of the Māori English Hone was a notable feature for this Dialogue which was rendered by phonetically.

The tale of Timber Town (1914) The Tale of Timber Town was firstly published in 1914 and there were another 5 editions that were published from then until 2009. This literature was published in Wellington and the publisher of this literature was Gordon & Gotch. This literature is Grace's longest work and this story background is located in Nelson. The genre of this story is a melodramatic romance with the story of the 1866 Maungatapu murders which talk about the three brutally murdered men that were carrying gold to Nelson for goldfield as inspiration. This book is a murder story which talks about a hero called Jack Scarlett who involved with a European New Zealander, a Jewish woman, and a Māori maiden.

Cited and mentioned

Cited in Maoriland: New Zealand Literature 1872–1914 which in Introduction: Colonialism and Embarrassment, 3. Henry Lawson's Aesthetic Crisis, 5. Katherine Mansfield: A Modernist in Maoriland and Index sections.

The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Nelson, Marlborough & Westland Provincial Districts] in Nelson Corporation Military section.

The New Zealand Novel 1860-1965 in The Maori Again, Bread and Butter, and Index of New Zealand Authors sections.

Henry Lawson Among Maoris in I section.

Kōtare 2008, Special Issue — Essays in New Zealand Literary Biography Series Two: ‘Early Male Prose Writers’ in the Introduction section.

Letters and Art in New Zealand in 5 — The Nineties section.

Mentioned in Henry Lawson Among Maoris in 7 Lawson's Aesthetic Crisis section.

Kōtare 2008, Special Issue — Essays in New Zealand Literary Biography Series Two: ‘Early Male Prose Writers’ in Alfred Grace, 1867–1942 section.

Maoriland: New Zealand Literature 1872–1914 in Primary Texts and Secondary Sources sections.