https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/maurice-gee-renowned-new-zealand-author-dies-in-nelson-aged-93/M4VLNDPOD5BNZASQBJYAJR2CRI/
(paywall)

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/564192/respected-kiwi-writer-maurice-gee-has-died-aged-93

4:23 pm on 15 June 2025

Respected Kiwi writer Maurice Gee - author of 'Plumb' and 'Under the
Mountain' - has died, aged 93.

Considered one of New Zealand's greatest novelists, his work extended
over 50 years. He wrote about ordinary people and ordinary lives, often
with the narrator looking back at events that caused damage and
unhappiness.

"I don't deliberately set out to do this, but the stories turn in that direction following their own logic," he said. "All I can do about it is
make the narrative as interesting as I can and give those people lively
minds."

Maurice Gee was born in Whakatāne in 1931 and educated at Auckland's
Avondale College in Auckland and at Auckland University where he took a
Masters degree in English. He worked as a teacher and librarian, before becoming a full-time writer in 1975.

He passed much of his childhood in what was then the country town of
Henderson. The town, disguised as Loomis, and its creek are featured in
many of his books.

"I grew up alongside that creek in Henderson, and it seemed all sorts of exciting and dangerous things happened down there," he said. "You know,
that creek I could plot its whole length pool by pool for a couple of
miles even today."

His reputation took an enormous leap in 1978 with the publication of
'Plumb', the first of a trilogy about three generations of a family. The
novel won the British James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction in
1979.

The character of Plumb was based on maternal grandfather Jim Chapple - a Presbyterian minister, who was ejected from the church, because of his rationalist beliefs and jailed for preaching pacifism during World War
I.

Gee inherited strong left-wing views from that side of his family and a
burden of sexual puritanism, which he said caused him a tortured
adolescence, although he denied claims of a strong authorial voice in
his work.

"I can't look at my books the way I read other books," he said. "I look
at them quite differently.

"I'm intimately connected with them and probably wouldn't be able to
indentify my voice in them, if someone asked me to."

He said his novel 'Crime Story' stemmed from his anger over the changes
made in New Zealand by the Lange Labour Government in the 1980s, and politicians and businessmen are seldom portrayed favourably in his
books.

Gee's output included short stories and television scripts, and his
children's fiction was highly regarded, although it was not his
preferred genre.

"Children's writing seems to be easier than adult writing, because it's
coming off a different level," he said. "There's still some pleasure to
be got from both and I try to do each as professionally as I possibly
can, but the thing that really engages me fully is adult fiction."

Written in 1979, 'Under the Mountain' was probably his best-known
children's work, and was later converted into a film and TV series.

He received many awards for his work, including the Burns and Katherine Mansfield Fellowships, honorary degrees from Victoria and Auckland universities, and the Prime Minister's Award for literary merit. He won
the the Deutz Medal for fiction in 1998 for his novel 'Live Bodies' and
the 2006 Montana New Zealand Book Award for 'Blindsight'.

"Sad to hear of Maurice Gee's passing," Arts, Culture & Heritage
Minister Paul Goldsmith said. "Our thoughts are with his family.

"He was a prolific and graceful author. 'Plumb' is my favorite, although thousands of Kiwis will have their own."

"Maurice Gee was a real giant of New Zealand literature and so many
people grew up reading his stories, including me," Nelson MP and Labour
arts, culture & heritage spokesperson Rachel Boyack said.

"Really sad that one of our beloved constituents has passed away. He was
a private person - I didn't know him well - but he made a big
contribution to Nelson, not just through his writing.

"He was involved in groups like Friends of the Maitai, who do a huge
amount of work to protect our river that runs through inner city Nelson.

"Wonderful that he was able to live such a full life, but sad when we
lose someone that has made such a significant contribution to our
nation."

Gee is survived by wife Margareta, their two daughters, and a son from
an early relationship.

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About "Plumb" (from Kelly, a Goodreads reviewer):

"If you asked the narrator of Plumb what the book is about, he would
tell you it's the story of his struggle to devote his life to his
ideals, and the sacrifices he made to live by his principles, supported
by the deep love and understanding between himself and his late wife,
and their unstinting pursuit of their shared goals. But the genius of
this book is that through his voice the reader discerns a different
tale--that of a selfish hypocrite and the irreparable damage he does to
his family. A man who spends all his time contemplating the nature of
God and Love (in capital letters) while neglecting and withholding from
his wife and children, forcing them all to live lives of poverty and
hardship while he takes the best of everything. A man who is extremely
harsh in his judgment of others, but entirely forgiving of himself
(though he wouldn’t believe it); who spends his whole life in an
academic exploration of the human soul, and somehow fails to have even a
basic grasp of human nature. He is so believable—we have all met people
like this. They are infuriating."


About "Under the Mountain":

"Beneath the extinct volcanoes surrounding the city, giant creatures are
waking from a spellbound sleep that has lasted thousands of years. Their
goal is the destruction of the world. Rachel and Theo Matheson are
twins. Apart from having red hair, there is nothing remarkable about
them - or so they think. They are horrified to discover that they have a strange and awesome destiny. Only the Matheson twins can save the world
from the terror of what is under the mountain."


Most of what I posted in 2011:


Birthday tribute:

http://beattiesbookblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/happy-birthday-maurice-gee.html

Contemporary Authors:

"Maurice Gee is an award-winning New Zealand author of fiction for
both adults and children. His stories, which are usually set in
fictionalized versions of his hometown and the surrounding area, are characterized by a distinctive sense of place; he often sets his
novels in New Zealand's past, thus allowing observations of how his
country's politics and ideals have evolved over time. Whether he is
writing for young or mature audiences, Gee's books contain common
themes, such as the problems caused by intolerance of those of
different races, nationalities, or social status, the rejection of the outsider, and the struggle between good and evil forces. A realistic
writer for the most part, even his tales of science fiction and
fantasy aimed at young readers are notable for their detail, which
makes them all the more believable and useful as "as a springboard for
the bizarre," as Mark Sullivan put it in the Encyclopedia of World
Literature."


St. James Guide to Children's Writers:

"Against these evil characters are the child-protagonists. Helped by
Nature, their special gifts, each other, and sympathetic, sometimes symbolically drawn adults, all discover the necessary strength to meet
each challenge. The red-haired twins Rachel and Theo develop
telepathic powers and control of magic stones to make the volcanoes
erupt just in time. Caroline saves the magic glasses from the Grimbles
and returns them, revitalised by the sun, to the elvish Moon-girl who
can then win the yearly fight against the dragon. Nicholas supports
his cousin Susan Ferris on her long journeys in her quest for the
magic charms. With help she succeeds in destroying each set of
oppressive rulers and, as a final solution, wipes out all memory so
that life on O returns to the Neanderthal stage.

"But this struggle demands sacrifice. Gee's "colouring" shows that in
the overthrow of evil, because of human imperfections, innocent people
must suffer, for which we "do right to grieve." Since "Good must be
won daily in the battle that never ends," some repetition in the
trilogy is inevitable, but each story ends successfully. And Gee
underlines the duality of his vision by pairing and paralleling
characters, creatures (notably cats, domestic and wild), magic stones,
and images."

In July 2006, Gee won the Montana New Zealand Readers' Choice Award,
the Montana New Zealand Book Award, and the Deutz Medal for Fiction or
Poetry for his novel "Blindsight." (And many awards before that.)

http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1708
(Literary Encyclopedia entry)

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/g/maurice-gee/
(book covers & synopses)

https://www.google.com/search?q=maurice+gee+books&sca_esv=8900ff206bef6d47&hl=en&biw=1366&bih=633&gbv=2&udm=2&ei=hI5RaKKgIrrdptQP0avw2As&ved=0ahUKEwii8pin5_iNAxW6rokEHdEVHLsQ4dUDCBE&uact=5&oq=maurice+gee+books&gs_lp=
EgNpbWciEW1hdXJpY2UgZ2VlIGJvb2tzMgUQABiABDIGEAAYBRgeMgYQABgIGB4yBhAAGAgYHkikDFCJA1ipC3ABeACQAQCYAW6gAcgEqgEDNC4yuAEDyAEA-AEBmAIHoAK2BcICEBAAGIAEGLEDGEMYgwEYigXCAgYQABgHGB7CAgQQABgemAMAiAYBkgcDMy40oAf-GbIHAzIuNLgHlgXCBwcyLTEuNS4xyAdg&sclient=img
(photos & book covers)

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1088298/
(filmography)

http://christchurchcitylibraries.com/Kids/ChildrensAuthors/MauriceGee.asp (interview)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Gee

Juvenile Writings:

Under the Mountain. Wellington, London, and New York, Oxford
University Press, 1979 .

The World Around the Corner, illustrated by Gary Hebley. Wellington,
Oxford University Press, 1980 ; Oxford and New York, Oxford University
Press, 1981 .
The Halfmen of O. Auckland and Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1982 ;
New York, Oxford University Press, 1983 .
The Priests of Ferris. Auckland and Oxford, Oxford University Press,
1984 ; New York, Oxford University Press, 1985 .
Motherstone. Auckland and Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1985 .

The Fire-Raiser. Auckland, Oxford University Press, 1986 ; Boston,
Houghton Mifflin, 1992 .
The Champion. Auckland, Puffin, 1989 ; New York, Simon and Schuster,
1993 .
The Fat Man. Auckland, Penguin, 1994 ; New York, Simon and Schuster,
1997 .
Loving Ways, Penguin (New York, NY), 1996.
Orchard Street, Viking (Auckland, New Zealand), 1998.
Hostel Girl, Puffin (Auckland, New Zealand), 1999.

Ellie and the Shadow Man, Penguin (New York, NY), 2001.

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On 18/06/25 03:57, Lenona wrote:

About "Plumb" (from Kelly, a Goodreads reviewer):

"If you asked the narrator of Plumb what the book is about, he would
tell you it's the story of his struggle to devote his life to his
ideals, and the sacrifices he made to live by his principles, supported
by the deep love and understanding between himself and his late wife,
and their unstinting pursuit of their shared goals. But the genius of
this book is that through his voice the reader discerns a different tale--that of a selfish hypocrite and the irreparable damage he does to
his family. A man who spends all his time contemplating the nature of
God and Love (in capital letters) while neglecting and withholding from
his wife and children, forcing them all to live lives of poverty and
hardship while he takes the best of everything. A man who is extremely
harsh in his judgment of others, but entirely forgiving of himself
(though he wouldn’t believe it); who spends his whole life in an
academic exploration of the human soul, and somehow fails to have even a basic grasp of human nature. He is so believable—we have all met people like this. They are infuriating."

I don't recall meeting and recognising anyone anywhere near as ascetic
as George Plumb whom I found difficult to understand and sympathise with. Specific politicians' attitudes decried by Plumb were prevalent here for
the rest of the century.
Thank you for the above extract.

About "Under the Mountain":

The tv version has been on in the background but I have not watched nor
read any of his children's writing.
Plumb is the only one I read. As an ex Presbyterian with no belief in a superior being, (excepting, of course, Dimwire and Fourbricks), I found
it fascinating though often dismal and a little depressing.

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