The Iron Snake - Softcover

John Gaudet

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1883911729 ISBN 13: 9781883911720

Publisher: Brandylane Publishers, Inc., 2007

Synopsis

It is 1897, the London tabloids called the railroad being built across Kenya from Mombasa to Lake Victoria the 'Lunatic Express,' and they are not far off. Alice McConnell, a brave young woman, runs up against the railroad's 'big business' approach as she tries to help villagers take their first steps into the modern era. A woman of spirit, she later helps them fend off an attempt by Germans to wrest control of the colony. The Honorable Geoffrey Brian Scofield Stanford, presumptive fifth Baron of Manchester, friend of the north country African cattle people, married, living separately from his free-wheeling wife, falls in love with Alice. He likes to be called Brian and swears to Heaven he'll change. He intends to become the ideal husband and helpmate, but can he? Caught in the glare of the lamp are the herds of wild animals and the Africans standing, watching, waiting for this Iron Snake to move on and leave them in peace. This is not to be, their lives will change and their land will vanish as certainly as the sun rises tomorrow on a panoramic scene that resembles the dawn of the age of man.

About this title

About the Author:

A Fulbright Scholar to both India and Malaya, John Gaudet taught biology at Makerere University in Kampala during the early reign of the eccentric and brutal dictator, Idi Amin, a man responsible for 100-400,000 deaths. His research, funded by the National Geographic Society, took him to Uganda and Kenya. Now married and living in the Washington, D.C. metro area, he is a full-time writer whose work has appeared in the Washington Post and local magazines such as Pleasant Living, a bi-monthly magazine dealing with life in the Chesapeake Bay area, and more recently online at Buzzle.com and AmericanChronicle.com.

Review:

A well-told story of Africa filled with interesting and real characters. The Iron Snake is an example of what hard work, extensive travel, determination and talent can achieve. --Alexander McCall Smith, bestselling author of the Botswana Mma Ramotswe series (No.1 Ladies Detective Agency), and 2004 Author of the Year, Great Britain.

A fascinating and well-written glimpse into colonial Africa, a good mix of history, romance and adventure. --Barbara Esstman, Night Ride Home, ABC Movie Special, and the 200th Hallmark Hall of Fame by Hallmark Productions.

About this edition

• Publisher: Brandylane Publishers, Inc.
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1883911729
• ISBN 13: 9781883911720
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 384