The neglect of New Zealand history is a sad thing. With this work by Philip Temple, the Wakefield family, that every school child heard about, but never grasped the importance of, is revealed free of the myths that have carelessly been created about it. Needless to say, it's taken 150 years to produce a history/biography that is adequate in its treatment, not only of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, but the unfortunate siblings too.
The research is great, relying much on letters and documents. The writing is up with best in modern historical biography, engaging and not laboured.
It's valuable to read about the foundations of the city one lives in and where this high risk, high energy, organizer and promoter of colonial settlement theory is buried.