Great Elephant

Under the mercy of a fearsome king…

Robert Fraser Black had an unusual upbringing – raised in the heart of Zululand during the reign of King Chaka, The Great Elephant.

Years later, he recalls both the idyllic and horrifying memories of his childhood.

His father, Jamie Fraser Black was a wanted criminal and the family had to flee into the veld, to escape the law of King George.

Robert’s mother died when he was too young to even remember her, but his stepmother, Frances, is the mother he always had and adored.

Robert’s closest companion is his father’s friend Stone-Axe: a Bushman whom his father saved many years ago, and Stone-Axe pledged his life to him in thanks.

As they head further north, the knowledge that they are heading to Zululand is becoming unbearable – who knows if King Chaka would let them live?

But then a chance encounter saves them.

A dying bull elephant is struggling over to a wounded man. Rescuing him, they are shocked to realise the man is Mgobozi – known as “The Hammer of Chaka”.

They are taken to the Chaka’s royal Kraal at Bulawayo, where they are assured, at least, of safe passage.

What they witness in the Kraal makes the rumours of Chaka’s cruelty sound tame in comparison.

Brutal and swift executions – the number depending only on Chaka’s mood. Even a neutral glance or a sneeze would garner Chaka’s ire.

But to the Black’s, in thanks, Chaka offers cattle and land of their choosing. To Robert’s father, they have finally found their prized kingdom of milk and honey.

So on a hill they name “Ben Mhor” overlooking the veld, they build their modest house, “Morile” and become farmers.

Robert’s life in those early years is one of happiness. He learns from Stone-Axe how to hunt and how to be stealthy.

He learns to speak Xhosi – the Zulu language – and plays alongside Zulu children.

But soon, Robert’s idyll is shattered.

His father has grown close to Chaka, at the cost of being cold and distant to his family. 

Seeing their farm prosper, the Zulus treat them with indifference and then horrifying disdain. Meanwhile, Chaka is on the warpath once more.

And when they rescue a young woman named Nerissa from two slavers, their home life is irrevocably altered…

A historical novel like no other, Great Elephant is an unflinchingly brutal tale of a frontier family’s struggle to survive and the legendary Chaka Zulu.