Scarlet & magenta / Lindsey Dawson.

Novel.

"A New Zealand novel about Victorians' deepest secrets"--Cover.

In the 1880s, misbehaving wives were asking for trouble. Building a raw Bay of Plenty town was hard enough without free-thinking females upsetting local society. Violet comes to Tauranga from London with a scandalous past and an aching heart. She befriends a kindred spirit, Anna, and catches the eye of footloose Rupert rival and rowing mate of Anna's husband. In pioneer towns, it doesn't do to speak your mind or seek unseemly delights. Angry words are soon flying in banks and bedrooms, with reputations and marriages at risk. There are secrets to keep and lost loved ones to find. Scarlet and Magenta vividly reveals the trials and pleasures of colonial life and explores the question of what lasts longest blood ties or friendship.