Photo: Supplied
It's the early 1970s, and Marjorie Forsythe has been forced into retirement from teaching at the age of 60.
Her husband has died - her four children are making families of their own - and for the first time in her life, she's free to do what she wants.
This forms the basis of Auckland writer Vivienne Lingard's book Mrs Forsythe - a musing on motherhood in the 50s, 60s and 70s and its long-term impact.
Her first novel, The (almost) True Story of a Man Called Jack was published in 2020 and was a fictionalised memoir of her father.
Vivienne was an artist and illustrator for much of her life, earned a degree as a mature student and discovered a passion for writing while living and teaching in Japan.
She tells Kathryn where the inspiration for the formidable character of Mrs Forsythe came from.
