Book description
A fascinating novel based on the life of the infamous baby farmer
Minnie Dean, the only woman in New Zealand history ever to be hanged.
Accused of infanticide and awaiting trial and then sentence, Minnie
confides in Reverend Lindsay. Alternating between these two contrasting
personalities, the novel tells Minnie's version of events. From her
oppressive upbringing in Victorian Scotland to adulthood in Southland,
Minnie battles her own nature and the hardships of colonial life and
social hypocrisy. Once Minnie is tried, she has to face her impending
execution, while Reverend Lindsay, who has become her unlikely ally,
fights to prevent her paying the ultimate price for society's sins.
Sacha de Bazin s first novel is a fascinating fictional account of the
infamous Minnie Dean, the only woman to be hanged in New Zealand. The
Day She Cradled Me tells the story from Minnie s point of view and from
that of her confidante in prison, the local vicar, as she waits to be
tried and hanged for infanticide. The Sunday Star Times felt it read
like the work of a  much more experienced writer and concluded that Â
for a first novel, this is a magnificent achievement . Kerre Woodham
declared it: Â an extremely accomplished debut novel and a wonderful
work of historical fiction. It s wonderfully written and a beautiful
read. De Bazin grew up in Tokoroa, studied in Auckland, raised her
five children in Canterbury, and recently moved to Nelson. She has a BA
in English, and previously was a primary school teacher.
