A Dance called Africa - Paperback

by Isabella Bleszynski (Author)

Kings, queens, witches and warriors, Renegades, mystics, wise men and fools, All play their part in A DANCE CALLED AFRICAWhen the ancient powers of Africa meet the thrusting forces of change, will will be the outcome?When he is threatened by a group of thugs, a 10-year-old boy appeals to his ancestors for help. The response is immediate - and terrifying. Some years later, after publicly defying the powerful father who had sent his family into exile, again the heavens respond.Coincidence, natural phenomona -or something else?One person, however, shows no fear, either of the storm or its apparent instigator. LANGANI, the 4-year-old who loves to dance, meets the rebellious youth, SHAKA KA SENZANGAKHONA.During the trial of a notorious witch, they meet again. By now, Shaka is a powerful warrior King, creator of the Zulu kingdom, while Langani is of high intellect, a mystical prophet, and a man of peace.The sinister world of the occult is always close. Both Shaka and Langani oppose it, although they sometimes use it for their own ends.The diviner begins to be haunted by dreams of the white men who are scheming to enter the Kingdom in search of its ivory, and greatly fears what will follow in their wake.HENRY FRANCIS FYNN: young hunter and intrepid explorer, he is also known as 'the man who can raise the dead.'JAMES KING and FRANCIS FAREWELL: ex-naval officers whose bitter rivalry will threaten to bring destruction on those around them.JAKOT MSIMBITHI: the handsome Xhosa with the 'magical eye' and the luck of the devil. Cattle rustler, spy, and freedom fighter-even the prison on Robben island cannot hold him.But there is something else Langani cannot explain-his electrifying visions of the young boy with red hair and blue eyes who is also destined to play a part in the dangerous game about to unfold in Zululand.Who is he? And just what is his powerful connection to King Shaka?

Author Biography

Isabella Bleszynski, author. Born in a small fishing village in the north-east of Scotland, 'the descendant of sea-farers, Jacobites and others of that ilk', she has absolutely no doubt that her later sense of adventure was fostered by her sea-faring Macpherson grandfather, the great storyteller and historian of her young life. A few years after entering the teaching profession, she took up a contract with the Ministry of Overseas Development, London and left for Ndola, Zambia with her sons, then aged 6 and 4. Several years later she moved to Lilongwe, Malawi, a country with strong historical links to her native land. Her final tour in Africa took her north, to Libya where she worked for Sirte Oil Company in Marsa el Brega. The year after the US bombing of Tripoli and Benghazi, she finally returned to Scotland, almost 25 years later. Isabella now writes full time. She has two sons, four grandchildren and spends part of each year in Australia. 'For better or for worse - Scotland and Africa were the two great continuums of my life, Whatever I've written so far, or will write in the future, these places will no doubt continue to be both my source and my inspiration.'