About The Lion and Leopard Trilogy of historical novels

'The Lion and the Leopard' is a trilogy of historical novels set in Africa.

The first novel, 'The Settler' was published in March 2012, and has now sold over 10,000 copies. It's about loves and wars in the cauldron of Southern Africa in 1890-1902, where a young Englishman and his American companion become accidental soldiers. Can they survive the vicious fighting between settlers and African tribesmen, and between British and Boer armies? Which of four pioneering young women will they choose to share their challeges?

'The Settler' in Amazon.com

The second novel, 'Lake of Slaves', was published in June 2014. “In the 1880s the Lake Nyasa area of central Africa is devastated by Arab slave traders and raids by Angoni warriors. Livingstone's 'Lake of Stars' has become a 'Lake of Slaves'. Alan Spaight is among a handful of British men fighting the slavers. After a year as a trader he starts a coffee plantation, while torn between the enticement of his doctor’s wife and his neighbour’s attractive daughter. He is drawn repeatedly into conflicts with the slavers, in company with mission-educated Goodwill, a former slave who escaped to return to his village. A new Consul, Harry Johnston, brings in British officers and Sikh soldiers in 1891, and the tide turns. After another five years of bitter fighting the slave trade is finally destroyed.”


The third and last novel in the trilogy, 'The Lion and the Leopard', is set in the area round Lakes Nyasa and Tanganyika during the 1914-18 War. The 'Lion' in the title is the badge of the British South Africa Police (BSAP), the paramilitary force in Rhodesia. The 'Leopard' in the title is the Nyasaland Volunteer Reserve (NVR). Both outfits served with distinction in the First World War. I served in both of them, many years later!


Thursday, October 11, 2012

Excerpts from reviews of 'The Settler', posted on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk:

"...a grand sweep through twelve years of history, with the bonus of interesting, well-developed characters."

"The four women are delightful, they are quite different in their personalities and very engaging."

"There's something in the book for men (the war background) and women (love themes for four interesting characters)."

"...splendidly crafted tale moves at a good pace holding one engrossed in its web of romantic intrigue."

"The book has everything you want in a historical novel - great character development, accurate history, romance, adventure."

"A wonderfully crafted story that keeps you hooked to read more! Brian you really captured the love scenes in a very tasteful way and your characters were very strong."

"The characters are well thought out and their relationships intriguingly complex."

"...a fast moving and very readable style which coupled with vivid descriptions of the time by an author who has a good understanding of the period..."

"They are genuine characters that one can believe in, and it was easy to get caught up in the dramas in the book."

You can see these reviews at Amazon
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