Samuel Butler's transformative years in Canterbury, New Zealand, are brought to life in this inventive 'co-authored autobiography'. Roger Robinson reconstructs the untold story of how the young emigrant sheep-farmer and explorer shaped his mind, art, and vision of the modern world.

Drawing on deep research and Butler’s own vivid, witty voice, this passionate work of scholarship restores him to his rightful place as a New Zealand writer of global importance. It is the definitive account of how one of the world’s most visionary books was created.