Once described as 'the grand old man' of New Zealand public life, Sir Heaton Rhodes was certainly one of the best-known and most-loved public figures in Canterbury province in the first half of the twentieth century, and his country mansion, 'Otahuna', near Christchurch had one of New Zealand's most famous and often-visited gardens.

A friend of royalty and successive governors-general, Sir Heaton Rhodes seemed to embody a landed aristocracy in New Zealand society, yet his extensive philanthropic work with the Red Cross and Order of St John endeared him to rank-and-file New Zealanders as well. Soldier, politician, cabinet minister, philanthropist, stamp collector, cattle breeder and horticulturalist, he filled a long life with an extraordinary diversity of interests. Few men have achieved such high public esteem in New Zealand, or been loaded with so many honours.

What drove this remarkable New Zealander to excel in everything he undertook? How did he maintain a busy public life while coping with his wife's serious mental illness? How far did he perpetuate the myth of 'Englishness' in Christchurch and Canterbury? These are just some of the themes investigated in this lively and readable biography.