Fleur Una Maude Beale (née Corney, born 22 February 1945) is a New Zealand teenage fiction writer, best known for her novel ''I Am Not Esther'', which has been published worldwide.'Fleur Beale', ''New Zealand Book Council''
Retrieved 2 March 2005

Biography

Beale was one of six children of a dairy farmer, Cedric Corney, and of a teacher and author, Estelle Corney (née Cook). She was born in Inglewood,

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dist ...

, New Zealand, on the farm where her father was born. Beale grew up in the town and attended Inglewood High School From 1958, before attending Victoria University, Wellington and Christchurch Teachers' College, where she met her husband, Tim (Timothy Gerald Beale). She taught at Melville High School in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

from the mid 1980s to the late 1990s. Beale's first stories were written for the children's radio programme ''Grandpa's Place''. Her first book was a small reader and picture book for young children and she started to write for teenagers in 1993. Her stories often involve troubled adolescents engaged in

outdoor activities Outdoor recreation or outdoor activity refers to recreation done outside, most commonly in natural settings. The activities that encompass outdoor recreation vary depending on the physical environment they are being carried out in. These activiti ...

. Beale was a finalist in the AIM Children's Book Awards (junior fiction) and her 1998 novel ''I Am Not Esther'' was shortlisted for the senior fiction section of the 1999

New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults are a series of literary awards presented annually to recognise excellence in children and young adult's literature in New Zealand. The awards began in 1982 as the New Zealand Governme ...

. In 1999 she was awarded the Children's Writing Fellowship at

Dunedin College of Education The Dunedin College of Education (''Te Kura Akau Taitoka'', also known as ''Dunedin Teachers' College'') was a former teacher training college in Dunedin, New Zealand. Founded in 1876, the college was the oldest teacher training college in New Zeal ...

and quit teaching to write full-time. Her 2001 novel ''Ambushed'' was a finalist for the Junior Fiction section of the 2002 New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards. Her 2004 account of how an indigenous girl discovers how her education can save her tribal lands (''My Story A New Song in the Land. The Writings of Atapo, Pahia, c.1840'') received a Storylines Notable Book Award in 2005, as did ''Walking Lightly''. In 2012, Beale became the last recipient of the Margaret Mahy Award during

Margaret Mahy Margaret Mahy (21 March 1936 – 23 July 2012) was a New Zealand author of children's and young adult books. Many of her story plots have strong supernatural elements but her writing concentrates on the themes of human relationships and growi ...

's lifetime. In the 2015 New Year Honours, Beale was appointed an

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rend ...

for services to literature.

''I Am Not Esther''

Fourteen-year-old Kirby Greenland's mother leaves her with unfamiliar relatives in a strange city, supposedly leaving New Zealand for two years to help refugees. Kirby's new guardians and their six children belong to a strict fundamentalist Christian sect called the Children of the Faith. They abhor all recreation and any immodesty, devoting themselves to industry and bible study. They insist that Kirby must leave her old self behind and emphasise that Kirby dissent, her uncle insists that the entire family prays over her until she repents. Concern for her youngest cousin prompts her to relent but she soon becomes aware that she is losing her identity and determines to escape although she feels responsible for the cousins that she has grown to love. She is also concerned about the fate of her cousin, Miriam, who disappeared shortly before her arrival, but is barely mentioned by the family, other than her being "dead". She knows that not all the children of the cult members are completely indoctrinated: her cousin Daniel wants to be a doctor, despite the proscription on higher education, and her schoolfriends misbehave when they are away from home. Kirby and Daniel are thrown out of the sect at the end of the book because he reveals his wish to be a doctor "so I can help you all". A mass brawl/fight scene ensues as the Elders beat Daniel. They go to Wellington, and find Kirby's mother in a

psychiatric hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...

and help her to recover. Meanwhile, Kirby has been having nightmares about becoming Esther again; it is only when she sees a documentary about the faith that she realises "Esther is dead".Fleur Beale, ''I am not Esther'' (Long Acre Press/Hyland House, 1998) The title ''I Am Not Esther'' comes from Kirby's catchphrase "I am not Esther", as this is what her aunt, uncle and other people in the faith insist on calling her. She is worried that she is turning into Esther particularly when it is pointed out to her that Kirby would have said "''I'm'' not Esther" – the faith did not use abbreviated words. Beale was inspired to write this by "a boy I taught who had been thrown out of his family because he wanted to be a doctor".Fleur Beale posting to ''The Reading Room''
Retrieved 2 March 2005 She describes the cultists with respect; she is hostile to the behaviour and not the people. Despite this, the cultists are depicted as brutal opponents of the brave doubters, largely as a consequence of using Kirby's perspective. In 2012, Beale published a sequel to ''I Am Not Esther'', titled ''I am Rebecca''. One of the sequels is written from the perspective of her cousin Rebecca, who is moving to Nelson with the rest of her family, as shown at the end of ''I Am Not Esther''. The third book is called "Being Magdalene" which is written from Magdalene's point of view.

Printed works

*''The Great Pumpkin Battle’' (1988), Shortland *''A Surprise for Anna'' (1990), Cocky's Circle *''Slide the Corner'' (1992), Scholastic *''Against the Tide'' (1993), HarperCollins *''Driving a Bargain'' (1993), HarperCollins *''Over the Edge'' (1994), Scholastic *''The Fortune Teller'' (1995), HarperCollins *''Dear Pop'' (1995), Land's End *''The Rich and Famous Body and the Empty Chequebook'' (1995), Land's End *''Fifteen and Screaming'' (1996), HarperCollins *''Rockman'' (1996), HarperCollins *''Further Back than Zero'' (1998), Scholastic *''Keep Out'' (1999), Learning Media *''Destination Disaster'' (1999), Shortland *''Playing to Win'' (2000), Scholastic *''Trucker'' (2000), Learning Media *''Deadly Prospect'' (2000), Scholastic *''Ambushed'' (2000), Scholastic *Seven readers for Pearson Education, Singapore (2001) *''Lucky for Some '' (2002), Scholastic *''Red Dog in Bandit Country'' (2003), Longacre on-fiction*''Lacey and the Drama Queens'' (2004), Scholastic *''My Story A New Song in the Land. The Writings of Atapo, Pahia, c.1840'' (2004), Scholastic *''Walking Lightly'' (2004), Mallinson Rendel *''A Respectable Girl'' (2006), Random House *''The Transformation of Minna Hargreaves'' (2007), Random House *''My Life of Crime'' (2007), Mallinson Rendel *''Slide the Corner'' (2007), Scholastic *''End of the Alphabet'' (2009), Random House *''Dirt Bomb'' (2011), Random House * The Juno series: ** ''Juno of Taris'' (2008) ** ''Fierce September'' (2010) ** ''Heart of Danger'' (2011) * I Am Not Esther ** ''I Am Not Esther'' (1998), ** ''I am Rebecca'' (2014), ** ''Being Magdalene'' (2015), Random House''

References

External links

Short story by Fleur BealeMelville High School
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beale, Fleur 1945 births Living people New Zealand children's writers New Zealand women children's writers People from Inglewood, New Zealand People educated at Inglewood High School, New Zealand Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit