This, the first in the Zulu Kings trilogy, is the saga of the rise of the Zulu kings. It is the story of three brothers.Shaka forges the kingdom of the Zulu into the most powerful black state in Africa; even so, he protects the first white men who come to hunt and trade in Zululand. Fynn, Farewell, King and Isaacs become his friends and they record the Zulu empire at its height.Dingane assassinates Shaka and usurps the Zulu kingship. Then he kills his brothers. Fearing the encroaching whites, Dingane sends his regiments against the trekkers and ivory traders. The results are harrowing. With the help of the Boers, Mpande attacks Dingane who flees north to his terrible death. Mpande’s eldest son Cetshwayo battles it out against his favoured brother, Mbuyazi. Cetshwayo wins an undisputed victory. Hemmed in by white expansion on all sides, Cetshwayo finds it difficult to re-establish a powerful monarchy in Zululand.There can be no doubt that many will feel that they know Shaka’s country intimately after savouring the sights and sounds of battle on these pages, and above all, its larger-than-life personalities.Penny Howcroft (née Denoon-Stevens) was born in Umzinto, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. She graduated from the University of Natal, was a teacher for fifteen years, a lecturer in Fine Arts at the University of South Africa, Pretoria, and an education journalist at The Star newspaper, Johannesburg. Thus, she views the land with the eye of an artist and the mind of an educator. Her love for the Zulu country and for the Zulu reveals itself in every line of text.
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