Leopard at the Door
In 1952, 18-year-old Rachel returns to sunlit Kenya after six years of dreary schooling in England. Rachel is eager to reclaim her place on her father’s farm, her childhood home, the land of her heart. But things have changed in Kenya. Rumors of disturbances reach her father’s isolated holding, and her father’s new lover—a woman totally different from Rachel’s deceased mother—now rules the roost there. The idyllic colony Rachel remembers has also transformed; political unrest sweeps the country and endangers Rachel, her family and their neighbors. Rachel strives to find a place in this new world, and, as the Mau Mau gain strength, Rachel makes a choice. Rooted in past conflicts, Rachel’s actions have major consequences, both for her, and for her family.
Colonial Kenya in the early 1950s is vividly evoked in this book. Written in the present tense, Rachel’s return to Kenya transports the reader to the past. We witness the turmoil as the native population of Kenya struggles against British power, and colonists fight to maintain their way of life against these new threats. These battles spring to life in this book, and, as all good historical fiction does, this novel enriches our understanding of today’s world and the human spirit.
