Granny Dalton returns in Whanganui author's second book

Murray Crawford has written another book in his Granny Dalton series.

One of Whanganui's most colourful characters, Granny Dalton, returns in a book by local author Murray Crawford.

Mr Crawford's book, Granny Dalton and the Disappearing Cornerstone, will launch on Saturday.

This is Mr Crawford's second book about Granny Dalton. His first, Granny Dalton and the Firebug, was released last year.

Granny Dalton was a hermit who lived on the outskirts of Whanganui in the late 19th century with her menagerie of animals.

"The more I looked into Granny Dalton's life, the more I found," Mr Crawford said.

"For someone who was essentially an outcast, her life was surprisingly well-documented by the local newspapers, and I've used a lot of those old newspapers for my research.

"Telling Granny's story is really telling the story of early Whanganui."

In the latest book, which Mr Crawford described as a mix of fact and fiction, Granny Dalton becomes embroiled in a local mystery. When St Peter's Church was moved from Victoria Ave to Gonville, it was discovered that the building's cornerstone and the time capsule had disappeared.

The book coincides with the 150th anniversary of St Peter's Church. It took Mr Crawford three months to write.

"Historical novels are so much easier to write now because the internet has provided so many opportunities for research," he said.

And will Granny Dalton be back for a third instalment?

"She might be," is all Mr Crawford would say.

+All are welcome to the book launch. It will be held on September 2 at 10.30am at St Peter's Church, Koromiko Rd. Mr Crawford will be selling the book at a discounted price of $25, with $5 of each book sold going to the Friends of St Peter's Church.