Halfway to Africa

An old-fashioned garden in Christchurch, painted by Margaret Stoddart in about 1910 is featured on the cover of this beautiful novel by Bronwyn Tate. In the foreground glows a bed of beautiful irises. In the language of flowers, the iris signifies "I have a message for you". As a symbol, it was the fleur-de-lys of the royal family of France, known as the Flower of Chivalry, with a sword for its leaves and a lily for its heart. The author weaves these images through the lives of ten very different contemporary people and their experiences of giving birth, of loss and rediscovery.