"Torn between her love of England and her duty to her husband, Mary Hobhouse, wife of the first Anglican bishop of Nelson, was a prolific and highly articulate letter writer. In these private letters -- which are full of national figures and events, as well as fascinating domestic detail -- Mary reveals herself as a sensitive and intelligent woman endeavouring to recreate a quintessentially Anglican community in the antipodes. Her sharp eye for detail and lively humour and compassion make these letters an important contribution to our understanding of New Zealand's colonial past." -- Back cover.