I am feeling slightly ambivalent about this book. After struggling to get into it, I eventually became engaged with it, and am glad that I read it. It has certainly enhanced my knowledge of the Boer War, an era of British History of which I am woefully ignorant. It is set around the prolonged siege of Ladysmith in which the Boers beset the British held town for nearly five months.
Foden picks out a handful of characters, including intriguing (presumably factually-based) cameo appearances by Winston Churchill and Mohandas Gandhi, and interlaces his plot around them. The complexities that this throws up are well handled. The first character whom we meet is Kiernan, and Irish Republican on the run from the British authorities with his two infant daughters (Bella and Jane) in tow. In the prologue we find him emigrating in the early 1880s to South Africa in search of a new life beyond the reach of the law, with the aid of Republican funding. The story then moves to Ladysmith in 1899 where British troops are massing, but fearing encirclement by the Boer forces under General Joubert. Kiernan is now the owner of one of the town's leading hotels where Bella and Jan both work behind the bar.We are then introduced to Tom Barnes, a British soldier who is smitten with Bella.
Meanwhile, reinforcements are on the way to help the beleaguered British garrison, and a warship laden with troops steams for the Cape. On board, alongside the troops, are a selection of war correspondents including Nevinson, an actual war correspondent renowned as one of the forerunners in that profession. Another notable among the accredited journalists is Winston Churchill.
Back in South Africa we meet Mhule, a Zulu who had been indentured to work in goldmines but who is now fleeing with his wife Nandi and son Wellington, for refuge from the advancing Boers. Mhule becomes separated from his family and ends up being wounded and captured by Boers, but is lucky enough to come under the wing of Dr. Sterckx,
Foden lays out a vivid series of characters (I have barely scratched the surface), and their stories are all interlaced with each other. However, I felt that the book lacked much overall direction - having worked so hard to set the context and introduce the cast, it is as if he just lost interest! ( )

As the cover of the book describes, this is a “meticulous re-creation” of the siege on Ladysmith during the Boer War. Therein lies both the plus and the minus of this book. Very detailed historic information is given, I learned a lot about the actual siege conditions and the political temperature of the day. So many details that, in fact, I felt like I was reading a non-fiction book. What was missing for me was the sense of story that captures both the mind and heart.

The author weaves together many storylines to tell his story, we follow newspaper correspondents (which included Winston Churchill), soldiers, townspeople and natives. Even Mohandas Ghandi makes an appearance as a stretcher bearer. It was not until the second half of the book did the author finally give us a more intimate portrait of Ladysmith, through the eyes of a young woman, and although the story was interesting and vividly told, I never really felt caught up in it.

If you are looking for an educational read about the Boer War, I would recommend Ladysmith, but if you are in the market for a historical story to sweep you away to another time and place, I would pass on this book. ( )

This is the story of the siege of Ladysmith, a town in South Africa, during the Boer War. The siege lasted something like 130 days before the relief column of British troops could fight its way in. The novel revolves around a number of personalities: Leo Kiernan, an Irish republican on the run from the British who makes a new life for himself and his two daughters, Jane and Bella, in S.Africa, but who clandestinely aids the Boers during the war; two or three particular journalists, including cameo appearances by Winston Churchill; a couple of troopers (not well developed); a Portuguese barber; and a black man, his wife and son who provide a link between action in the Boer versus the British camps. I found the characterizations disappointing. It is clear that Leo must be aiding the Boers from within Ladysmith, but nothing is done to develop this; Bella is perhaps the best developed character in that she finally throws off the control of her father and engineers the escape of the barber incarcerated on false charges of being a spy; the troopers seem to be there for romantic relief, and the episode of one with a prostitute, while titillating, didn't seem to have any dramatic requirement other than the sense that now is the time for a sex scene. The story is not a patch on The Siege of Krishnapur as a description of the horrors and deprivations of a lengthy siege and the introspection that one might expect from more thoughtful characters.
(Dec/99)