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Great Elephant

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Scholefield ,in later years turned to writing UK set crime fiction,but he made his name with vivid and bold adventure tales often set in his native Africa .This is one such example being a story of 19th century South Africa -a time before the nation was so designated .Its title refers to the great Zulu leader Chaka although it is some way from being a biographical novel as he is often absent from the narative for long periods of time

The book revolves around the Blain family ,whose head ,James Fraser Blain has been falsely accusaed of assault and sentenced to transportation to Australia from his native Scotland .He escapes from the convict ship in South Africa and ,with his wife,Francis and two sons ,moves into the relatively unexplored hinterland of the colony travelling by covered wagon with two African servants ,including Stone Axe the bushman.His elder son ,Robert,acts as narrator and we see things through his eyes
Fraser saves the life of a Zulu warrior who is being attacked by an elephant ;this warrior is Mgobozi a kinsman of Chaka and the family is taken under Chaka's wing ,building a farm and homestead in the area.There they witness the conflicts between the Zulus and neighbouring tribes .
The narrative has two strands -political and personal.On the political level the book deals with key incidents in the hhistory of Chaka,s reign and the evolving history of relationships between the Zulus and the emerging SDouth African state .it gives fascinating details of tribal governanace and ritual among the Zulu nation and does not shrink from the negative side of Chaka's rule especially the violence and bloodshed of what at times was a reign of terror directed at political opponents
The personal strata of the book looks at tensions within the Fraser's especially the strained marital relationships when James becomes sexually attracted to a young native slave girl bought by the family ansd who unwittingly also causes sexual tension between Robert and his father.
the last 100 pages -from which Chaka is virtually absent -move into a straighforward and robust action narrative involving cannibals ,renegade Zulu warriors and slave traders.
It is a strong narrative driven book that repays reading for lovers of good action cventred novels