Who wrote Makutu, and how did the novel portray conflict between Pacific and Western values?

Makutu (1960) was written by Thomas Davis, a Cook Islander, and his wife, Lydia Henderson.1

The novel portrays the conflict between Pacific and Western values through its setting in an imaginary land called Fenua Lei. While the work addresses this cultural tension, it is noted for having more in common with the "South Seas" literature produced by European writers—such as Robert Louis Stevenson and W. Somerset Maugham—than with the later development of modern Oceanic literature. Although the authors avoided many of the common stereotypes associated with that genre, the novel was written primarily with a European audience in mind.1