''Mr Ponsonby'' is the fourth novel from noted

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

author Ian Middleton, and is described as "his eulogy to a

gentrifying Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning. Gentrification often increases the ec ...

Ponsonby". He had an intimate connection with Ponsonby (a suburb in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

), where the book is set, beginning in 1942 and returning to live there in later life. It is the story of a man driven by greed, willing to destroy the character and nature of a lively, spirited community for the sake of a dollar. Mr Ponsonby "vividly recreates the atmosphere and characters of an Auckland suburb threatened by reconstruction"The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature, edited by Roger Robinson and Nelson Wattie (Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998) and the clash between the proponents of progress, development and gentrification and the inhabitants of an established community with its own unique character.

Reviews

* Richards, Ian. ''

New Zealand Listener The ''New Zealand Listener'' is a weekly New Zealand magazine that covers the political, cultural and literary life of New Zealand by featuring a variety of topics, including current events, politics, social issues, health, technology, arts, f ...

'' 126 (2608), p. 126; 5 March 1990. * McLean, Gavin. ''

Otago Daily Times The ''Otago Daily Times'' (ODT) is a newspaper published by Allied Press Ltd in Dunedin, New Zealand. The ''ODT'' is one of the country's four main daily newspapers, serving the southern South Island with a circulation of around 26,000 and a c ...

'' p. 28; 14 June 1989. * King, Michael. ''

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

'' 9(96):184-186; June 1989. * Reynolds, Ted. ''

New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...

'' 2:6; 25 February 1989.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mister Ponsonby 1989 novels 20th-century New Zealand novels Novels by Ian Middleton Novels set in New Zealand Auckland in fiction