Books by Fiona Kidman

Better than Fiction 2: True adventures from 30 great fiction writers (Lonely Planet Travel Literature)

by Lily King, Jane Smiley, Porochista Khakpour, Catherine Lacey, Francine Prose, Karen Joy Fowler, DBC Pierre, Marina Lewycka, Dave Eggers, Alexander McCall Smith, Don George, M. J. Hyland, Lonely Planet, Natalie Baszile, Lydia Millet, Steven Amsterdam, Marie-Helene Bertino, Jack Livings, Lloyd Jones, Steven Hall, Stefan Merrill Block, Suzanne Joinson, Sophie Cunningham, Fiona Kidman, Keija Parssinen, Rebecca Dinerstein, Avi Duckor-Jones, Christina Nichol, Mandy Sayer, Shirley Streshinsky, David Shafer

From Lonely Planet, the world's leading travel guide publisher,Better Than Fiction 2, the follow-up to 2012's Better Than Fiction, is a second serving of true travel stories told by some of the world's best fiction writers including Dave Eggers, Jane Smiley and Karen Joy Fowler.
Varied in place, plot and voice, these are stirring and evocative pieces that all share one common characteristic-they manifest a passion for the precious gift of travel, from its unexpected but inevitably enriching lessons about other peoples and places, to the truths, sometimes uncomfortable but always enlarging, it reveals about ourselves.
By turns comic, dramatic, and moving - from Francine Prose's confrontation of the mysteries of India to DBC Pierre's search for Hemingway's muse in Italy - these 30 short tales reveal the joys, perils, and surprises of travel, and that truth can often be stranger (and better) than fiction.
Whether on a plane en route to your own travel adventure, or at home settling in for a vicarious experience of world adventures, embark on this literary journey around the world and explore your passion for travel now!
Authors: Lonely Planet, Don George, Dave Eggers, Jane Smiley, Karen Joy Fowler, Stefan Merrill Block, Francine Prose, DBC Pierre, Fiona Kidman, Alexander McCall Smith, Keija Parssinen, MJ Hyland, Catherine Lacey, Rebecca Dinerstein, Lloyd Jones, Porochista Khakpour, Jack Livings, Marina Lewycka, Lydia Millet, Suzanne Joinson, Sophie Cunningham, Christina Nichol, Mandy Sayer, Steven Amsterdam, Marie-Helene Bortino, Shirley Streshinsky, Steven Hall, David Shafer, Avi Duckor-Jones, Lily King, Aliya Whitely, and Natalie Baszile
About Lonely Planet: Started in 1973, Lonely Planet has become the world's leading travel guide publisher with guidebooks to every destination on the planet, as well as an award-winning website, a suite of mobile and digital travel products, and a dedicated traveller community. Lonely Planet's mission is to enable curious travellers to experience the world and to truly get to the heart of the places they find themselves in.
Lonely Planet's award-winning list travel literature anthologies include An Innocent Abroad (Independent Publishers Award, Silver for Essays, 2015) and A Fork in the Road (Lowell Thomas Award, Bronze for Travel Book, 2014; James Bear Award, Nominated for Travel Fiction, 2014).
'Lonely Planet. It's on everyone's bookshelves; it's in every traveller's hands. It's on mobile phones. It's on the Internet. It's everywhere, and it's telling entire generations of people how to travel the world.' -- Fairfax Media
'Lonely Planet guides are, quite simply, like no other.' - New York Times
Lonely Planet guides have won the TripAdvisor Traveler's Choice Award in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015.

This Mortal Boy

by Fiona Kidman

Winner of The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards 2019
Winner of the Ngaio Marsh Crime Writing Awards 2019
Winner of the New Zealand Booklovers Prize for Fiction 2019
Winner of the NZ Heritage Book Awards 2018
Longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Awards 2020
This multi-award winning novel explores the controversial topic of the death penalty with empathy and a probing eye for injustice.
'Magnetic' New York Times
The offender is not one of ours. It is unfortunate that we got this undesirable from his homeland.
Auckland, October 1955. If young Paddy Black sings to himself he can almost see himself back home in Belfast. Yet, less than two years after sailing across the globe in search of a better life, here he stands in a prison cell awaiting trial for murder. He pulled a knife at the jukebox that night, but should his actions lead him to the gallows? As his desperate mother waits on, Paddy must face a judge and jury unlikely to favour an outsider, as a wave of moral panic sweeps the island nation.
Fiona Kidman’s powerful novel explores the controversial topic of the death penalty with characteristic empathy and a probing eye for injustice.

The Infinite Air

by Fiona Kidman

From the writer who 'couldn't produce a poor paragraph if she tried' [New Zealand Herald], The Infinite Air tells the story of the rise and fall of 'the Garbo of the skies'.
'A gripping historical read' Woman's Own
Jean Batten became an international icon in 1930s. A brave, beautiful woman, she made a number of heroic solo flights across the world. The newspapers couldn't get enough of her. In 1934, she broke Amy Johnson's flight time between England and Australia by six days. The following year, she was the first woman to make the return flight. In 1936, she made the first ever direct flight between England and New Zealand and then the fastest ever trans-Tasman flight. Jean Batten stood for adventure, daring, exploration and glamour. The Second World War ended Jean's flying adventures. She suddenly slipped out of view, disappearing to the Caribbean with her mother and eventually dying in Majorca, buried in a pauper's grave. Fiona Kidman's enthralling novel delves into the life of this enigmatic woman. It is a fascinating exploration of early aviation, of fame, and of secrecy.

Songs from the Violet Café

by Fiona Kidman

The experience of working for Violet Trench in her small-town cafe in the summer of 1963 shapes the lives of a group of women including Jessie Sandal, who follows Violet's influence as far as Cambodia.
Fiona Kidman explores family relationships and the difficult journey to female independence.

All Day at the Movies

by Fiona Kidman

"A beautiful writer." The Times

When war widow Irene Sandle goes to work in New Zealand's tobacco fields in 1952, she hopes to start a new, independent life for herself and her daughter - but the tragic repercussions of her decision will resonate long after Irene has gone.

Each of Irene's children carries the events of their childhood throughout their lives, played out against a backdrop of great change - new opportunities emerge for women, but social problems continue to hold many back. Headstrong Belinda becomes a successful filmmaker, but struggles to deal with her own family drama as her younger siblings are haunted by the past.

A sweeping saga covering half a century, this is a powerful exploration of family ties and heartbreaks, and of learning to live with the past.

Reviews

'It is a universal and honest book and one I'm sure you'll want to share and discuss. (...) What you get when reading All Day at the Movies is an intimate portrait of one family over time, trying to reach back to the past for some fragment of understanding.' San Francisco Book Review

'A credible reflection of real life with many relatable issues, All Day at the Movies proves that Kidman is a masterful storyteller'. The Lady Magazine

'A truly gifted writer. She explores the subtleties of human interaction and family with a deft and insightful hand.' Trip Fiction