Education

 In 1960, Coral went to Christchurch Girls’ High School and completed her secondary schooling there. She followed this with four years at the University of Canterbury, where she completed a Masters degree in History.

 I was interested in writing from an early age and remember working on my first historical novel when I was about ten; I completed about four pages before the intricacies of the plot defeated me. Later in adolescence I started writing poetry, though I think I did this - rather than writing prose - because my sister, Tania Atkinson had started publishing fiction and, in the way of siblings, I felt she had already staked out that territory.

Coral graduating with a Masters of
Arts degree from the University
of Canterbury (May 1969).