Otherwise

Is Francis Napier a man or a woman? William, a young lawyer, must find the truth about the mercurial prisoner. William’s interrogation of Napier leads him into a world of doubt where he discovers the possibility for otherwise. Against the background of New Zealand in WW1, this novella weaves historical fact, fiction and Greek myth in a fractured love story and reflects on the nature of gender.Is Francis Napier a man or a woman? William Stephens, a young lawyer, is about to depart New Zealand to serve in the First World War when he is seconded to investigate the strange claims of a draft dodger. His interrogation of the mercurial prisoner leads William into a world of doubt that jeopardises his engagement to Edith, a budding artist, and his future in liberal Wellington. This novella weaves historical fact, imaginative fiction and allusions to Greek myth to show how things might prove otherwise for William. It is at once a fractured love story and a reflection on the nature of gender.