A Whanganui legend has been brought back to life in the pages of a book which will be released later this month.
Murray Crawford's novel Granny Dalton and the Firebug tells the story of the woman known as Granny Dalton, a hermit who lived on the outskirts of Whanganui in the late 19th century with her menagerie of animals. She lived in a series of shacks, many of which were burnt down.
"Let's just say that the combination of gin and candles wasn't ideal," Mr Crawford said.
Other events of the time make their way into the book, including the antics of the newly-formed Whanganui fire service and the rivalry between the Wanganui Chronicle and the now-defunct Wanganui Herald newspapers.
Granny Dalton arrived in Whanganui in the 1870s and died in 1903. Mr Crawford said he still heard her name mentioned from time to time - even though she's been dead for more than a century.