Kuliano

About the Book

The scene is set in 1901 in Honolulu and the spectacularly beautiful Kalalau Valley on Kauii as Hawaiian Prince Akaha decides to use Kuliano, a Kalalau Valley orphan, for a demonstration of upward mobility for Native Hawaiians in the new American Territory of Hawaii. Hawaiian Queen Lili’uokalani has just been forcibly deposed with the aid of American Minister Stevens and the Marines of the USS Boston. A very reluctant Kuliano is removed to Honolulu away from his much loved canoe priest guardian to attend a western school and be assimilated into the American Way. The result is a struggle over the next two decades between Assimilation and Authenticity for both Kuliano and his sweetheart Ailana. Prince Akaha finds himself trying to balance the needs of his people with the often conflicting needs of the Honolulu businessmen who have financed his political career as well as contending with a spirited, runaway teenager. A must read for Hawaiian history buffs and those interested in the roots of the 1922 Hawaiian Homestead Act.

About the Author

Rosemary I. Patterson, Ph.D. is a retired School Psychologist whose interests include Identity Achievement (who am I and what am I going to do with my life) in Adolescence. After a visit to Hawaii in 1988 she hypothesized that the Identity Achievement task would be more complicated in a multi-cultural population. The result has been five novels dealing with Identity Achievement in Hawaii. The other four novels include “An End To Innocence,” set in Hilo, “Aloha And MaiTais,” about Honolulu entertainers in the 1930's, “Kuhina Nui,” about King Kamehameha’s favorite wife, and “Kula Keiki Ali’i,” about the Chief’s Children’s School that in 1840 educated the children who would become monarchs of Hawaii.