Mai i Rangiatea

A.A. Grace. Tales of a Dying Race. London: Chatto & Windus, 1901.

Here we show two examples of a romantic Edwardian view of Māori mythology.  In Tales of a Dying Race, Grace portrays the Māori as a race in decline:

‘. . . it is the sad belief of those who know the race best, that the Maoris (sic) are doomed to be extinguished or absorbed’ (p vii).

The volume contains both pre-contact and post-contact stories, many of them presented in a rather nostalgic manner.

A.A. Grace. Tales of a Dying Race. London: Chatto & Windus, 1901.
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Edith Howes. Maoriland Fairy Tales. London: Ward, Lock & Co. Limited, 1913.

Edith Howes retold many stories, all of them with a cute ‘fairies at the bottom of the garden’ approach. In this volume, Maoriland Fairy Tales, the illustrations reflect that romanticised view.

Edith Howes. Maoriland Fairy Tales. London: Ward, Lock & Co. Limited, 1913.
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