Moonlight and Roses: The Life and Legacy of Ivy Preston

Guest Blog by By Julie James, Senior Heritage Librarian ​​​​

LEFT: Ivy Preston's 21st Novel of Romance (24 Aug 1973). Aoraki Heritage Collection, accessed 09/09/2025, https://aorakiheritage.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/3759 RIGHT: One of Ivy's books at the Timaru District Library. Ivy Preston authored more than forty romance novels published internationally from the 1960s through the 1990s, she is one of very few South Canterbury authors who have enjoyed such consistent international success.

From a Timaru farmhouse to the bookshelves of the world… Ivy Preston wrote more than forty romance novels that swept readers from Stewart Island to South Canterbury’s high-country stations — and on to nine different languages. She turned Dashing Rocks into a place for proposals, Caroline Bay Carnival into a stage for first kisses, and Timaru Hospital into the setting for nurse romances. Gentle, heartfelt, and proudly “moonlight and roses,” Ivy’s stories made her an international literary heroine... and one of Timaru’s own. Thank you to our guest writer Julie James for preparing the following blog to help you learn about the life and legacy of Ivy Preston... read on to learn about Ivy's legacy and pop to the Timaru Library to borrow a few of her books...

Author Ivy Preston, (nee Kinross), Born and died in Timaru 1913-2010, posed with one of her books titled 'Where Ratas Twine', 3 June 1993. Image with permission from South Canterbury Museum, item 2012/186.7922. Please contact the museum for more information. Timaru District Libraries catalogue: Ivy Preston   

Author Ivy Alice Preston (née Kinross) was born in 1913 and grew up on a small farm in Southburn, South Canterbury. The fourth of six children, she described her childhood as a happy one, despite the family's limited financial means. Hoping to avoid the hardships she had known growing up, Ivy would think to herself, “I’ll never marry a poor man!”.  However, she fell in love with Percy Preston, a struggling young farmer from nearby Springbrook. Percy warned Ivy that they would be “desperately poor” for several years, but she was undeterred. In a moment that foreshadowed the passion and romance of her later novels, she replied, “I don’t care how poor we are. Money is nothing when we have love.” The couple married in 1937 and made their home at “Valpre”, St Andrews.

Nearly twenty happy years of marriage followed as Ivy and Percy raised their four children and made a success of their farm, navigating life with a young family and even the challenges of World War II. During this time, Ivy continued to nurture her childhood passion for writing, contributing numerous short articles, stories, and poems to various magazines.  Tragically Ivy and Percy’s own ‘happily ever after’ was cut prematurely short when Percy passed away in 1956 after a short illness. 

Photo of Ivy Preston - Wedding Day - Supplied By Fay Struthers

Following Percy’s untimely death Ivy and her children relocated to Timaru where Ivy penned her 1959 memoir ‘The silver stream’, a tender and romantic reflection on her early life and years with Percy.  In the wake of her loss, Ivy found it difficult to focus on writing love stories. The thought of achieving success without Percy to share it with felt, in her words, “at best a cold and empty dream.” Eventually, buoyed by her cherished memories and the faith and pride Percy had in her Ivy rediscovered her creative spark and channelled her romantic spirit into what would become the first of many beloved novels. Where the rata’s twine published in 1960, was set on Stewart Island - a place where Ivy and Percy had once enjoyed a romantic holiday. 

Book written by Ivy Preston and publiched by Robert Hale/ Whitcombe Tombs who published most of her early editions.

A remarkable literary journey followed. Over the years, Ivy authored more than 40 captivating romance novels. Published in London, her books gained international acclaim and were translated into nine languages, securing her legacy as a cherished voice in romantic fiction.

Lindford Romance Library - Hospital on the Hill By Ivy Preston. Author Ivy Preston, (nee Kinross), Born and died in Timaru 1913-2010, posed with one of her books titled 'Where Ratas Twine', 3 June 1993. Image courtesy of the South Canterbury Museum, item 2012/186.7922. Please contact the museum for more information. Timaru District Libraries catalogue: Ivy Preston  Ivy was a prolific romance author known for her captivating novels. Growing up in rural South Canterbury, Ivy married local farmer Percy Preston with whom she had four children. Following Percy's untimely death in 1956, Ivy embarked on her literary journey, eventually penning over 40 novels, including The Blue Remembered Hills, Island of Enchantment, and Mountain Magic. Ivy's novels are set across New Zealand, with many situated in Timaru and South Canterbury.

In her later years, Ivy was fortunate to travel widely, and while many of her novels feature overseas holidays and exotic heroes or heroines, she consistently favoured New Zealand settings. Beloved titles such as Island of Enchantment, April in Westland, and Red roses for a nurse are set across New Zealand’s stunning landscapes. Many others- like The Blue Remembered Hills, A fleeting breath, Nurse in confusion, Petals in the wind, None so blind, and Interrupted journey have a distinctly local flavour with stories unfolding in Timaru and South Canterbury. Think proposals at Dashing Rocks, romances at Timaru Hospital, love triangles on a high-country station and first kisses at the Caroline Bay Carnival!

Ivy continued publishing into the late 1990s. From the 1980s onward, publishers and readers increasingly sought stories with more sex and sensuality but Ivy stood firm in her commitment to gentle, heartfelt romances stating, “My books are what I call moonlight and roses romances — they stop at the bedroom door.”

For more than three decades, Ivy wrote stories rich in emotion and charm, offering readers a timeless escape into love and longing. When she passed away in 2010, Ivy was laid to rest with her beloved Percy in the Timaru Cemetery. She left behind her novels and a window into a world of heartfelt storytelling—an invitation for new readers to discover the love and romance of our very own literary heroine.

Many of Ivy’s books are available to borrow from the Aoraki Heritage Collection at the Timaru District Libraries, including her memoir, 'The Silver Stream'.

Thank you Julie for your research and sharing Ivy's story.

Resources

Preston, I. (1959). The silver stream. Christchurch, New Zealand: Pegasus Press.

The Timaru Herald. (1988, June 8). From Peter Pan to romance.

The Timaru Herald. (1982, August 26). Timaru author favours moonlight romances.

The Timaru Herald. (1994, October 6). Romance writer has had some novel experiences.

The Timaru Herald. (1959, July 1). Timaru authoress has always like to ‘scribble’.

Ivy Preston - Supplied By Fay Struthers

Fun Facts about Ivy Preston

1. Ivy Alice Kinross was born in 1913 on a small farm in Southburn, the fourth of six children
2. Her parents Andrew Kinross (1876–1956) and Lily Ward (1885–1954).
3. The year she was born, was the outbreak of World War I. New Zealand committed thousands of troops to the British war effort and suffered heavy casualties in the Gallipoli campaign in Turkey in 1915.
4. Her maiden name, is Scottish and is a habitational name from the burgh of Kinross, which was named in Gaelic with ceann ‘head’ + ros ‘headland, promontory’.
5. Her first published story appeared in the Timaru Herald’s Peter Pan page in 1927, when she was 14 years old.
6. She worked as a housekeeper at Dunrobin Station before marriage in 1937.
7. As a girl, she once declared, “I’ll never marry a poor man!” but chose love over wealth when she married Percy Preston.
8. She married her husband Percival Edward James Preston (1912–1956) on October 1937, he was born in Timaru to Maurice Preston and Harriet Jane Gould. 
9. Ivy and Percy farmed at St Andrews, naming their property Valpre, after a romantic novel title.
10. Their marriage lasted nearly 20 years until Percy’s death in 1956.
11. After his death, Ivy and her children moved to Timaru, she had to support her four children and so worked on her first book.
12. She channelled her grief into her memoir, The Silver Stream (1959), her first published book.
13. Her first romance, Where the Rata’s Twine (1960), was set on Stewart Island, inspired by a holiday she and Percy once shared.
14. She went on to publish more than 40 romance novels between 1959 and the 1990s.
15. Many of her novels were set in Timaru and South Canterbury, featuring places like Dashing Rocks, Caroline Bay Carnival, Timaru Hospital, and high-country stations.
16. Her books were published in London and translated into at least nine languages, including Italian, Norwegian, German, and Dutch.
17. She described her work as “moonlight and roses romances — they stop at the bedroom door,” resisting the 1980s trend toward explicit romance.
18. Several of her novels featured nurses and hospitals, making Timaru Hospital a recurring backdrop for fictional love stories.
19. Her books carried dreamy titles such as Island of Enchantment, April in Westland, Petals in the Wind, and Red Roses for a Nurse.
20. By the 1980s she had published over 30 novels, and by the late 1980s this number had reached 39.
21. She compared writing each novel to “having a baby,” as it usually took her about nine months to complete one.
22. She wrote in longhand first, then typed up drafts on her one-finger typewriter, a skill she taught herself.
23. Ivy described novel writing as an addiction: she never felt quite finished and always expected another idea to come along.
24. She was a long-serving member of the South Canterbury Writers’ Guild, contributed to its first journal in 1963, and judged short story competitions.
25. She travelled widely, attending writers’ conferences, including the Romance Writers of America Conference in Florida and California, but always returned to New Zealand as her
26. favourite setting.
27. She lived much of her life in Timaru, writing from her Church Street home.
28. Ivy Preston passed away in 2010 and was laid to rest beside her husband Percy at the Timaru Cemetery. Her address was listed 95 Church St, Timaru, New Zealand.
29. Many of her novels and memoirs can still be borrowed from the Aoraki Heritage Collection at Timaru District Libraries.

Some of the books that were written by Ivy Preston and are available to read at the Timaru Library Photo supplied by Timaru Library.

Roselyn Fauth 's reflections:

I first came across Ivy Preston’s name through the Aoraki Heritage Collection at Timaru District Libraries. Thanks to the hard work and passion of Timaru Librarians, Julie James and Marie Rapley I was introduced to a woman who had lived right here in Timaru, who wrote stories for the world. What started as a curious search into local women's history, has grown into deep admiration for an author whose work offers escape, authenticity of the time, and what I think still has much to teach us.

Ivy was born in Southburn, Timaru in 1913 and died aged 96 in 2010. Ivy began publishing her writing after the loss of her husband Percy, and her first memoir (The Silver Stream) was about their life together. She published more than 40 romance novels. Her books were released in London, translated into nine languages and set in places I am very familiar with, from Dashing Rocks and Caroline Bay Carnival to the hospital, and the high country. 

I will be honest with you, I had never read a romance novel. So the three books I purchased form the libraries book sale were my first. I wasn't really sure what I was going to read. I appreciated that while there was a build up of exciting romanic ideas, the books never went past the bedroom door. I enjoyed their central love story, following the characters personal growth, how they faced obsticales such as social norms or family expectations, balancing love with the independence or career, and change as they move towards love. The three books that I brought home finished with realshionship affirmation, reconcillation and a sense of home. They were uplifting and fun to read.

On reflection, I have realised at the heart of these books is a genre that gives women centre stage. Her writing explores everyday realities such as grief, money, illness, war and care work while also holding on to hope. I can imagine that for many women, Ivy's books were the only literature where they could see their own lives reflected and their choices taken seriously. I have learned that Romance can offer both recognition, connection and escape. 

Ivy’s romances often featured nurses and hospitals, echoing the central role of women in healthcare and caregiving. So I think, by choosing these settings, she highlighted women’s work not as background detail but as the heart of her stories. The themes of grief, money, illness, war, and care work mirror what many women carried in real life.

It was interesting to learn about where Ivy drew her inspiration from. Her own holidays, her home life, and I imagine the grief of losing her husband, and she transformed those experiences into stories that travelled to readers far away. It is a relief to know that she was celebrated and felt the pride and recognition from her fan's, including many write ups in our newspapers over decades. It looks like her writing enabled her to earn a living, and earned the respect of both publishers and peers.

Her earliest books are now about 65 years old and feel like a time capsule.

Ivy Preston’s main publishing period was from 1959 through the 1990s, so about four decades, with her peak productivity in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. I had to laugh when on the back of the book, "plane" had an apostrophe at the start, just to remind us that it was an abrehivation of airoplane, and the language like "joyous fandango" when referring to the dance of the waves", is not something I would expect to read in a book written today. Her stories reflect a period when women’s lives were tied closely to marriage and family, but also show them finding resilience through love, memory, and connection to place. Her legacy of books, show that 'ordinary' women... teachers, nurses, daughters, widows can also be heroines. Romance novels can tell us about our society and the changing role of women, sterotypes, and give us a look into views on romanjce, gender, and sexuality have changed over time.

For this reason, this is why I believe Ivy’s work is so socially important, as well as entertainment, they were a mirror and a lifeline. They created a space for retreat and renewal, sending women back into their own lives with courage, perspective and hope. Learning about Ivy has encouraged me to keep telling women’s stories, so we can be inspired by amazing women like her.

My next question is though... why is she is not included in Timaru’s Hall of Fame? This was created to honour citizens of international and national standing. By every measure I think Ivy qualifies. She was born and raised here, achieved international success, and placed Timaru’s places and people at the heart of her work. So, with the support of the library’s resources I now plan to work on a nomination for her so that she can be remembered and recognised as she deserves.

Ivy has taught me that stories can carry us through loss, give us hope, and change how we see the places and people around us. She has taught me that my voice matters too. I’ve realised romance writing, which I used to brush off as “light,” actually empower women, helped them see them selves in the story and in life.

https://aorakiheritage.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/1841

https://natlib.govt.nz/records/22430304

https://timarudistrictlibrary.blogspot.com/2010/05/renowned-timaru-romance-author-passes.html

https://natlib.govt.nz/records/35851464

Well loved... The three Ivy Preston books that I purchased that used to be issued by Timaru District Libraries. I was surprised by the font size when I opened her books. It was lovely to see that the funds raised supported charities for people with poor vision, which explained the large print. 

The opening page of one of Ivy Preston’s large-print novels explains these editions were published by the Ulverscroft Foundation, a UK charity founded in 1974 to support research, diagnosis, and treatment of eye disease. Proceeds from book sales helped fund projects such as children’s assessment units, operating theatres, specialist university research, and equipment for eye hospitals. The large font size was not only about accessibility for readers with poor vision, it was also part of a fundraising mission that brought Ivy’s stories into the hands of more people while improving the lives of thousands living with sight loss worldwide.

The headstone for Ivy Preston, loved mother, wife and author died April 1st 2010, aged 96 in Timaru cemetery with her husband Percival who died December 9th 1956 aged 44 - Photo Roselyn Fauth 2025

Ivy Preston — Timaru’s very own international romance author — rests here beside her beloved husband, Percy. Their love story, cut short in 1956, inspired her memoir The Silver Stream and echoes through the more than 40 “moonlight and roses” novels she went on to write. https://timaru.maps.arcgis.com/Plot_ID=11471

Ivy Preston was a founding member of the outh Canterbury Writers Guild

Ivy Preston, “The Story of Beaconsfield,” in South Canterbury Writers Guild Journal (1990 project issue, South Canterbury Writers Guild)

THE STORY OF BEACONSFIELD
By Ivy Preston

In 1859 Charles and Annie Chivers arrived in New Zealand from Bath in England on board the ship Zealandia. They spent some time in Christchurch then moved to an area west of Timaru that was part of the Pareora estate. Charles, who was a builder by trade, built a store to cater for the settlers along the Pareora River. Being a staunch supporter of the Conservative Party he named it Beaconsfield after Benjamin Disraeli, Lord Beaconsfield.

This didn’t please a Mr Guy who was an ardent supporter of William Gladstone. He built a store on the opposite side of the road and named it Gladstone Store. The settlers, however, stuck to Charles Chivers’ name and finally Mr Guy had to concede defeat and leave the district which, by that time, had become known as Beaconsfield.

Church services were held in the homes of various settlers, but in 1869 it was decided to build a church at the top of the hill and tenders were called. Charles Chivers’ offer of £57 for building the church and manse was accepted, and later on Christmas Day 1870 it was opened with two services and people of every denomination attending.

Beaconsfield flourished with a butcher, baker, blacksmith, and even a sailmaker taking up residence. The store was enlarged by four hands and later by six, closing down finally in 1972. Stores were delivered by cart and horse, and fifty pounds of flour, a hundredweight of sugar, twenty-five pounds of oatmeal, fifty pounds of rice, four chests of tea, as well as nails, garden implements, tobacco, candles and so on.

The name Beaconsfield was offensive to Otipua, against fierce opposition from the Chivers descendants, so the Post Office became the focus when another Beaconsfield was established in Hawkes Bay.

According to legend the name Otipua in Maori means ‘ghosts’ or ‘place of spirits’ and was given to the area because of the three large lakes that lay west of Waimate through Timaru. Pioneers therefore decided Beaconsfield would be a more suitable name. As a concession to the pioneers the road is still called Beaconsfield Road.

We must remember, however, that it was the foresight and enterprise of Charles and Annie Chivers, who did so much to establish a settlement in this new and alien land, planting many English trees and hedges to remind them of home.