Introduction: Gee's novels for young readers

Abstract

Maurice Gee is, unusually, an adult novelist who has written serious and compelling fiction for young readers, and his reputation is equal in both areas. The body of work Gee has produced for young readers is distinctive and valuable, and offers young readers, especially from New Zealand, unparalleled access to the creations of an extremely thoughtful writer. He has made a major contribution to the quality and range of literature available for teenagers and children, creating a set of novels that engage in serious issues as the same time as they tell exciting and interesting stories. This first volume of a two-volume series on the novels of Maurice Gee offers a critical guide to ways of seeing the literary worlds represented in his works for young readers. In some ways, the children's novels offer a view in miniature of Gee's entire oeuvre, especially in his employment of a deceptively simple and realistic style, and his preoccupying concern to engage fully in a social representation and critique of New Zealand.