In the Land of the Long White Cloud

By: Sarah Lark

Narrated by: Anne Flosnik

Length: 22 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's Summary

Hardworking London governess Helen Davenport longs for a family of her own but knows the prospect of finding a suitable husband grows dimmer each year. Then she spots an advertisement seeking wives for the churchgoing bachelors of colonial New Zealand and begins an affectionate correspondence with a gentleman farmer.

Meanwhile, not far away in Wales, society life bores Gwyneira Silkham, beautiful, daring daughter of a wealthy sheep breeder. She finds an unexpected escape when her father loses a blackjack hand to a mysterious New Zealand baron — and Gwyn’s hand in marriage goes to the baron’s son.The women cross paths on the ship to Christchurch — Helen traveling steerage, Gwyn first class — and form an unlikely friendship, one they’ll rely on when the husbands awaiting them turn out very different than they’d imagined.

This nineteenth-century saga of two unforgettable young women — navigating a new world and finding friendship, romance, and adventure at every turn — is as lush and sweeping as the hills of New Zealand themselves.

(P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Well Told Tale of Life in 19th Century New Zealand

I loved this honestly told story of the immigrants who came to New Zealand . . . Helen, the governess, who answered an advertisement to come from England to New Zealand to find a husband . . . and Gwyneira, who is coming from Wales to meet her husband. Gwyneira's father, a sheep breeder, who has gambled away his daughter's dowry, has now gambled his daughter's hand in marriage to save his sheep farm. Helen and Gwyniera become friends on the three month sea voyage from England to New Zealand, and so do the orphans that are traveling with Helen. I see that many of the reviews of In the Land of the Long White Cloud are mixed or negative . . . I highly disagree. Having listened to Bryce Courtney's books about Australia and New Zealand and the Maori tribes, (all of which I highly recommend), I find Sarah Lark's writing much gentler. Her treatment of many subjects (abuse of women by men, homosexuality, infidelity, sexual scenes, whore houses) are well written, but not down played or white washed. These things, as much as we all wish they weren't, were facts of life in 19th century New Zealand . . . The genuine friendships formed between the women, the pioneer spirit, the settling of the land and the GOOD of many people, including the Maori tribes, shine through. A love of learning and biblical truth abound, as well as unveiling the wolves in sheeps' clothing. I am already listening the the next book in the trilogy.

13 of 13 people found this review helpful

Excellent Epic - New Zealand

The book titled “In the Land of the Long White Cloud” by Sarah Lark readers follow a few generations of immigrants to New Zealand from Wales and London. One of the characters is Helen Davenport who has been working as governess in London but longs for a husband and a family of her own. Helen ends up on her way to New Zealand to answer an advertisement for a man seeking a wife after the exchange of letters. Helen believes that this man who writes beautiful sentiments is a gentleman farmer but her reality is disappointing.
Gwyn’s character comes into the story when her father loses blackjack to a sheep baron from New Zealand. Gwyn is to go to New Zealand to marry the sheep baron’s son. Gwyn is only 17 years old and loves sheep ranching, border collies, and horses. She is excited for an adventure and life on a sprawling ranch. Her reality is less than ideal.
Sarah Lark introduces the reader to a cast of characters that are wonderfully created. There are the orphan girls shipped to New Zealand to be servants. The heartless decisions made for these little girls really touched my heart and I was so happy that the author carried each of their story lines throughout this epic novel, as well. I call this an epic novel because it sweeps through many years – following the individual characters’ lives.
I purchased this book as an audio presentation through audible.com for my Kindle and it was about 22 hours long. The audible story is brilliantly performed by Anne Flosnik. It was thrilling to have such a long book to listen to that was never was slow or dull. There is rich New Zealand history detailed in the story and descriptions of the beautiful south island in the early days of settlers.
I am looking forward to ready the next book by Sarah Lark that carries on the story lines with the next generations. This book was originally written in German and the English translation was excellent.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

One of my favorite series ever

What did you love best about In the Land of the Long White Cloud?

It was wonderfully written. I was thankful that the stories were very long, because I didn't want them to ever end. I was guessing what would happen next the whole time. I love stories that are not predictable.

What was one of the most memorable moments of In the Land of the Long White Cloud?

I don't want to give any of the story line away. Let's just say, when Gweneira was confronted by her father-in-law about not fulfilling her obligations.

Which character – as performed by Anne Flosnik – was your favorite?

Helen. She had such strength to leave her home on her own. She was a good and loyal friend, well loved by all who knew her. Life was rough for her, but she was always thankful. I loved her spirit.

If you could take any character from In the Land of the Long White Cloud out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Helen, of course. See above comment.

Any additional comments?

Get this series. You won't be disappointed.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Frontier Land story

A quite long winded story, narrated well, but doesn't really go anywhere.. I enjoyed the narration, good accents and quietly enjoyable

6 of 7 people found this review helpful

easy light listen

an average historical, novel, narrator is alright. I'd recommend this book if you are doing something that will require half a listening ear.

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

Tedious

This book goes on and on and on and is very tedious. The narrator is a poor choice and when she does the voices of the characters she sounds rather odd. None of the characters are particularly likable or believable. There are some obvious historical mistakes and I regret listening all the way to the end.

7 of 9 people found this review helpful

Narrator has no idea of Maori Pronunciation!

Interesting story of pioneer New Zealand. However as a genuine "Kiwi" pakeha, I found the narration rather bland and her poor pronunciation of Maori words and place names grated - sometimes they were unrecognisable. The "Maori accent" of the Maori workers speaking English was also poorly portrayed.

8 of 11 people found this review helpful

In the land of the long White cloud

Thank you for the privilege of listening to this book. This is a story of the strong women of that time period.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Ran Out of Steam

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

This book started great. But as it got to the last 5 hours it resorted to sex and violence. Some of the characters were two dimensional at best. I wouldn't recommend this book.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Definitely not!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Great as an audio book!

I enjoyed listening to this multi generational saga. The reader captured the voice and emotions of the characters well.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

The worst book I have yet listened to

Having just been to New Zealand I was very interested in this book. The story was dire, appallingly badly narrated. If the narrator is unable to do a certain accent she should not try. A scots man with a mix of an Irish/Welsh/English accent is a joke and not a funny one. I shall be returning it

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Pleasant listen

This was an enjoyable listen if not exactly gripping or enthralling. Although neither of the main characters of Gwyneira or Helen made much of an impression on me I did find myself wanting things to work out well for them both and listening at every opportunity to discover what would come next in their lives. Some of the characters outcomes were a bit contrived and neatly sewn up but overall I did enjoy the book and would recommend it as one that is not too challenging if you need a fairly lightweight listen.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Beautiful and fascinating

A story about a dynasty at the birth of New Zealand. Beautifully narrated and could not stop listening.

New Zealand y

An interesting and well written book about New Zealand, especially if you know the modern country. also well narrated.

Kindle Unlimited is not working

This is just one of many titles where the audio and kindle versions just don't synch properly. The voice narration alone is awful. Means my Kindle Unlimited membership is an awful waste of subscription if I can't Read and Listen as stated on the book descriptions in the store.