Looking for Answers: A Life of Elsie Locke

Acknowledging a remarkable woman whose contributions to her country went largely unrecognized during her lifetime, this biography captures the accomplishments of New Zealand writer and activist Elsie Locke. Chronicling Locke’s campaigns for birth control, women’s rights, nuclear disarmament, social justice, and the environment before such causes were popular, this exploration also outlines her portfolio of 40 books, numerous articles, and even poetry. Illustrating the subject as forthright as well as private and modest, this insightful and compelling evocation peels back the layers of the public firebrand to find an ordinary woman who negotiated enormous personal obstacles, raising four children while also striving tirelessly to improve the world around her. Incorporating information from recently declassified security files and touching on Locke’s time as a member of the Communist Party of New Zealand, this revealing examination delivers a fascinating portrait of a woman ahead of her time.