{"product_id":"outcast","title":"Outcast","description":"\u003cp\u003eA soldier and a bigamist, a family man and a fraudster,\u003cbr\u003eEtienne Jean Brocher led an extraordinary life in 19-century France, North Africa and New Zealand.\u003cbr\u003eAlong the way he collected aliases, prison sentences,\u003cbr\u003eand enemies as he slipped from town to town, escaping\u003cbr\u003edebts and family duties. Ultimately, though, he faced the gallows in a double-murder trial that rocked New Zealand’s ‘dream society’.\u003cbr\u003eNow 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 Brocher’s own handwritten account, this absorbing biography untangles the complex trails Brocher left behind him in colonial towns and in the public imagination.\u003cbr\u003eWhile he explores the complexities of Brocher’s character\u003cbr\u003e– including his shortcomings – Brian Stoddart\u003cbr\u003elays bare the class prejudice and xenophobia that\u003cbr\u003eBrocher faced as an immigrant of ‘the wrong sort’\u003cbr\u003eand raises serious questions over whether he received\u003cbr\u003ea fair trial. Dynamic and often surprising in its humour,\u003cbr\u003ethis stunning biography makes a vital contribution\u003cbr\u003eto our understanding of how colonial New\u003cbr\u003eZealand shaped its ideal society and what could happen\u003cbr\u003ewhen ‘outsiders’ didn’t fit the mould. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePublisher -- Quentin Wilson Publishing\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFormat -- Paperback\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Anec•dote","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55154910593327,"sku":null,"price":35.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0912\/0579\/6143\/files\/Outcast.jpg?v=1773363299","url":"https:\/\/anec-dote.co.nz\/products\/outcast","provider":"Anec•dote","version":"1.0","type":"link"}