Scots College – Learning. For Life.

Book of the Week: Ned & Katrina, a true story

Ned and Katina: a true love story
By Patricia Grace

Published by Penguin 2009

This is the real-life adventure and love story of a Maori battalion soldier wounded in Crete, and a young Cretan woman. They meet when Ned is sheltered by Katina’s family, as he needs to escape from the Germans. He succeeds in this for a time, but is eventually captured and interned in a Prisoner of War camp. He returns to New Zealand, never forgetting Katina, and returns to Crete to marry her and bring her back to New Zealand.

This books gives a fine depiction of the war in Crete, with a lot of information about the Maori Battalion to draw in those who read New Zealand history.

It’s well-written and draws you in, so that by the end you really feel you know the family personally.

Also, there’s a whanau connection between two families who have been at Scots, and the Nathan family which Ned is from. But I’ll leave you to work that out!

This book is available from good booksellers and Scots Library.