Christchurch novelist dies aged 70

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33792, 14 March 1975, Page 5

Christchurch novelist dies aged 70

Mrs Nora Sanderson, the author of 21 novels and many short stories for magazines and radio, died suddenly last week at her home at Templeton. Her first story was published when she was 16 and when she died at 70 she had just completed her autoi biography. • Born Nora Brocas at Opo-

tiki, the daughter of a farmer who came from a titled English family, she went to school in Auckland and later trained as a nurse at Rawene Hospital. She nursed in country hos-

pitals in the Auckland area land in private hospitals in Auckland City. She was nursing at Coromandel Hospital in 19.31 when she met the Rev. Frederick Sanderson, a Methodist home missionary, and married him in Blenheim in 1934. I They lived at Granity and Tai Tapu before Mr Sanderson retired from the ministry because of a throat ailment, when they settled at Templeton. COMPASSION A warm, outgoing woman with deep compassion and sensitivity to the sufferings of others, Mrs Sanderson retained a life-long interest in nursing. She used her hospital experiences as the background for many of her novels, including “Shadows in the Ward,” which were published by Mills and Boon, Ltd, London. After some years she began to feel out of touch with the changing conditions and practice of nursing and decided to write straight romantic novels. One of her latest books was the story of a teacher entitled, “Ffeart of Stone.” Mills and Boon had her novels published in Denmark, the Netherlands, and Brazil, as well as in English-speaking countries. Later her books

were published by the English “Woman’s Weekly Library.” which distributes books in nine countries. From 1955 to 1963 she wrote for the Joint Board of Graded Sunday School Lessons of Australia and New

Zealand. In 1953 her whimsical children’s book, “The Puppycat,” was published by Whitcombe and Tombs and became a best-seller of its kind. It was serialised by the Education Department for storytime in primer classes and by the N.Z.B.C. for its children’s sessions. GARDENER When she felt strongly about a particular issue, Mrs Sanderson would express her views in radio talk-back show's and in letters to newspapers. Mrs Sanderson w'as a keen! gardener who grew a variety j of cacti and miniature trees. | She established a small park ; area of trees and shrubs at the back of her home in i Templeton and had a collec-! tion of more than 200 pressed four-leaf clovers from her (land. Mrs Sanderson was a life; member of the St John Ambulance Association, a Friend of the Canterbury Museum, a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association of Britain. and a founder member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association of New Zealand. She W'as also a member of the South Island Women Writers’ Association and of the New Zealand Women Writers' Association. She is survived by her husband, five sons, and a daughter.