Suzanne Aubert picked up her pen and began writing. It was 31 August 1924 and she was eighty-nine years old. ‘In haste, I will write to you soon again …’, ‘Writing between two trains …’, ‘just a letter on the go …’

The title for this book presents itself in her own recurring phrases. Suzanne’s life was a very full one, ninety-one years packed with eventfulness. It was nonetheless a thoughtful life, in a partnership of reflection and action lived out and communicated to others. The small French nun who strode the streets and roads of New Zealand on behalf of the poor and neglected was in her lifetime a legend – and she has remained so ever since.

Suzanne Aubert lived through a period of transformation in New Zealand history, with a working life that spanned the second half of the nineteenth century and reached into the early part of the twentieth. She was a passionate advocate for several key issues of the day – abandoned children, poverty, the situation of Mäori, religious commitment, the role of state and church, the place of women.

Highly articulate in both French and English, she wrote copious letters throughout her long life. The correspondence selected here reflects every aspect of her interests – her rich friendships, her challenges to the church hierarchy, her engagement with politicians on behalf of the poor, her relationships with the Sisters of the religious congregation that she founded (the Daughters of Compassion).

Jessie Munro has drawn on her meticulous research for the award-winning biography Story of Suzanne Aubert to edit and frame this marvellous selection of letters. A former Commonwealth scholar, she brings a considerable knowledge of French language and history to her superb presentation of a key figure in New Zealand history.

Watch an interview with Jessie Munro and the Sisters of Compassion as they talk about Letters on the Go. Video produced by Just the Ticket Ltd.