Adventure in the wild

Press, 4 December 1981, Page 7 (Supplement)

Adventure in the wild

' White Patch” is the third novel by Philip Holden based on the life of a red deer in New Zealand. Philip Holden said he first conceived the idea of writing a book about the life of a red deer when he was hunting professionally in the northwest Ruahine Ranges. "At that time, late 1967, the red deer was stalked by an ever-growing legion of week-end hunters, either for meat or trophies." Philip said. "They were also relentlessly pursued in many parts of the country by the likes of

me, a Forest- Service deerculler. “Above all. I wanted to write a realistic account of an animal that despite enormous hunting pressure, still survived,” he said. The first book, published in 1976, “Fawn,” covered the first two years of the life of a red deer called White Patch. “Because I had enjoyed writing it so much, and also because it was well received it seemed a natural progression to continue the story. As a result ‘Stag,’ was published three years later,” Philip said.

The story was again taken up in 1980, and this time the book was simply called "White Patch." In this book. White Patch has grown into a magnificent 16-pointer and is hunted as trophy. Another character in the book is a deer farmer who becomes obsessed with the idea of capturing the deer alive and using him as a sire. "White Patch," brings to an end a trilogy of novels about a red deer, and will appeal to older children. The book is published by Hodder and Stoughton.