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!


Tuesday, June 17, 2014

'Lake of Slaves'

The second novel in my Lion and Leopard Trilogy is 'Lake of Slaves', set in Nyasaland in 1887-1895. It was published this month on Kindle. The paperback edition will follow. In the 1880s the area around Lake Nyasa is being devastated by Arab slave traders and raids by Angoni tribesmen (descendants of the Zulus). Livingstone's 'Lake of Stars' had become a 'Lake of Slaves'. Into this desolate scene come a handful of British administrators and traders, who fight – initially without success - against the slavers. Alan Spaight arrives in Nyasaland in 1887 and becomes embroiled in the fighting. He becomes a coffee planter, but his military experience and commitment to combat slavery draw him into the conflicts. He is helped by mission-educated Goodwill, a former slave, who escaped to return to his village. In 1891 the new Consul Harry Johnston, brings British officers and a contingent of Sikh soldiers, and the tide slowly turns. It takes another five years of bitter fighting, but the slave trade is finally destroyed.
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