Zulu Hart

George Hart grows up in Victorian Britain as the illegitimate son of an Irish-Zulu actress and an unnamed figure from the military establishment. His dark complexion, uncertain parentage and violent schooldays force him to defend himself early, while the promise of an inheritance depends on proving that he can succeed as an officer in the King’s Dragoon Guards.

After prejudice and scandal drive him from the army, Hart travels to southern Africa and is drawn back into soldiering as British policy moves towards war with the Zulu kingdom in 1879. His divided heritage gives him access to both sides but offers no easy loyalty. The novel follows his struggle for identity and survival as imperial ambition culminates in the Anglo-Zulu War.