New and Complete Manual of Maori Conversation: Containing Phrases and Dialogues on a Variety of Useful and Interesting Topics, Together with a few General Rules of Grammar; and a Comprehensive Vocabulary, S.A. (Suzanne Aubert a.k.a. Sister Mary Joseph). Published by Lyon and Blair, Wellington, New Zealand, 1885. First Edition. 16mo – over 5¾” – 6¾” tall., 197pp. Brown cloth boards with red titles and speckled edges. Boards are square; hinges lightly weakened, rubbing to edges, red titles remain bright. Text block is clean without any markings, tan marks to endpapers, small closed tear at top edge title page and top edge crease to page eight. A rare copy in very good condition.
Suzanne Aubert (1835-1926) was a religious sister who devoted her life to helping others. Her work took her from France to Auckland then to Hawke’s Bay, to the Whanganui River and finally to Wellington. And along the way, she founded a new Catholic congregation, cared for children and the sick, by skillfully combining Māori medicine and Pākehā science, and wrote books in Māori, English and French adding significantly to a higher cultural understanding and literary heritage.
