Antony Alpers letters to Sarah Campion

Journalist and biographer Antony Francis George Alpers (1919-1997) was born and educated in Christchurch.

His early career as a journalist included writing for the Auckland Star, Press and the New Zealand Listener. When Alpers' wrote Katherine Mansfield: a biography, in the early 1950s it was considered the most significant study of her life and work to date. The book was derived from four years research in London partly funded by the New Zealand Literary Fund.

Between 1966 and his retirement in 1982 Alpers lectured in English and American Literature at Queen's University, Ontario, Canada. During this time he produced a number of publications on the Pacific and Mansfield including The life of Katherine Mansfield (1980) and The stories of Katherine Mansfield (1984).

After he retired Alpers returned to Christchurch where with Josephine Baker he compiled a collection of his father O.T.J. Alpers' letters; Confident Tomorrows: A biographical self portrait.

Alpers died in Christchurch in January 1997 aged 77.

Reference

Alpers, Antony in Robinson, R. & Wattie, N.(Eds). (1998) Oxford companion to New Zealand literature. Melbourne, Australia. Oxford University Press.

Sarah Campion was the pseudonym of, novelist, journalist, teacher and social activist, Mary Rose Alpers(née Coulton). Born in England in 1906 Campion lived in Australia, South Africa, Canada and the United States before settling in New Zealand. She wrote several novels between 1930s and 1951.

Campion married Antony Alpers in the early 1950s. The couple who divorced in 1962 had one son, Philip Alpers.

Campion was a founding member of CARE and was also involved in HART, CORSO and the anti Vietnam War protest movement. She died in 2002 aged 96 years.