King, Rachael 1970-

PERSONAL:

Born 1970, in New Zealand; daughter of Michael King (a writer) and Ros Henry (a publisher); married Peter Rutherford (an actor); children: Thomas. Education: Auckland University, B.A., 1994; Victoria University, International Institute of Modern Letters, M.A., 2001.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Christchurch, New Zealand.

CAREER:

Writer. Ursula Bethell Writer in Residence, Canterbury University, Christchurch, New Zealand, 2008. Worked variously in radio as the host of an arts program and selling advertising sales, first for radio and then for magazines.

WRITINGS:

The Sound of Butterflies, William Morrow (New York, NY), 2007.

Maintains a blog, The Sound of Butterflies.

ADAPTATIONS:

The Sound of Butterflies has been translated into six languages.

SIDELIGHTS:

Born in New Zealand in 1970, Rachael King began university after leaving school, but her wandering spirit led her on a circuitous path and she ended up taking time off to travel through Europe as the bass guitarist for several rock bands on tour. However, she ultimately graduated from the University of Auckland with her undergraduate degree in 1994, then went on to earn a master's degree in creative writing from the Victoria University International Institute of Modern Letters in 2001. Between her degrees, she spent time working at a radio station, first hosting an arts program and then working in advertising sales. She continued to do the latter for a magazine, using her income to support herself while she wrote short stories in her free time. She began to work on her first novel shortly after completing her graduate work, and the result was The Sound of Butterflies, released in 2007.

King was inspired to write The Sound of Butterflies by the glass framed butterflies that hung on the wall of her apartment as she worked on her writing. The story takes place in Brazil during the early 1900s, when rubber barons live like kings and are responsible for a huge portion of the country's economy; they are wealthy, powerful men who spoil themselves with unbelievable luxuries, yet treat their workers like slave labor. Thomas Edgar is a naturalist who travels to Brazil in search of a new species of butterfly, but by the time he returns to England after a five-month journey, it is clear that something treacherous has happened to him, as he has gone mute and is severely scarred. His wife Sophie, upon seeing the terrible shape her husband is in, sets out to learn what occurred to leave him so altered, and to restore him to his former self through the power of her love. The book met with strong praise from critics and spent a number of weeks atop the best-seller lists in New Zealand. A contributor for Kirkus Reviews found it to be "as lush and captivating as the jungle in which it is set." Evelyn Beck, writing for Library Journal, remarked that "this is an exotic adventure story and an impressive debut." A reviewer for Publishers Weekly remarked of the two primary characters that "there's plenty of life in their strained marriage, … making this a noteworthy debut, and King a writer to watch."