Outcast (Paperback)

Paperback. A soldier and a bigamist, a family man and a fraudster, Etienne Jean Brocher led an extraordinary life in 19-century France, North Africa and New Zealand. Along the way he collected aliases, prison sentences, and enemies as he slipped from town to town, escaping debts and family duties. Ultimately, though, he faced the gallows in a double-murder trial that rocked New Zealands dream society. Now his astonishing story untold in book form is revealed. Drawing on French military archives, family records, and newspaper reports from across colonial New Zealand, as well as Brochers own handwritten account, this absorbing biography untangles the complex trails Brocher left behind him in colonial towns and in the public imagination. While he explores the complexities of Brochers character including his shortcomings Brian Stoddart lays bare the class prejudice and xenophobia that Brocher faced as an immigrant of the wrong sort and raises serious questions over whether he received a fair trial. Dynamic and often surprising in its humour, this stunning biography makes a vital contribution to our understanding of how colonial New Zealand shaped its ideal society and what could happen when outsiders didnt fit the mould. A soldier and a bigamist, a family man and a fraudster, Etienne Jean Brocher led an extraordinary life in 19-century France, North Africa and New Zealand. Ultimately, though, he faced the gallows in a double-murder trial that rocked New Zealands dream society. But did he receive a fair trial? Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.…