A contemporary novel with an important historical element

‘Serving Shaka’ is a dramatic evocation of Zulu nation-building, immersing the reader in vivid battle scenes, poignant relationships and tense political machinations. Having masterminded Napoleon Bonaparte’s escape from St Helena with his friend Emile Béraud in Needing Napoleon, history teacher Richard Davey now finds himself stranded on the African coast. Richard and Emile encounter Shaka Zulu, a leader even more ruthless and ambitious than the former French emperor. Richard’s secret, that he is from the future, is revealed; Bonaparte seeks to outmanoeuvre Shaka; and Emile joins...