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Ladysmith (novel)
Encyclopedia
Ladysmith is Giles Foden
’s second novel. It was published in 1999 by Faber and Faber.
, a small railway town in British Natal
near its border with the Boer Republics
. The Boers have surprised the world with an initial series of victories over the British Army
and have now laid siege to Ladysmith
. As they shell the town from surrounding hills, people die, disease is rampant, structures collapse, starvation looms, and yet the British muddle through with an improvised cricket
match whenever possible.
The setting of Giles Foden’s
novel is historically accurate, and a number of historical figures appear as characters; for example, the Boers arrest a young reporter named Winston Churchill
as he struggles to reach the besieged town, and an India
n lawyer-turned-medical volunteer named Mohandas K. Gandhi becomes more and more committed to his philosophy of active non-violence.
The core of Ladysmith is a fictionalized version of a love story that Giles Foden
found in the letters of his great-grandfather, who was a British soldier at Ladysmith
. Bella, the Irish
hotelkeeper's daughter, falls in love, first, with a British soldier; and later with a Portuguese
barber, thus defying convention and rebelling against her father. The unlikely couple escapes in a balloon.
Giles Foden
Giles Foden is an English author best known for his award-winning novel The Last King of Scotland .-Biography:Giles Foden was born in Warwickshire in 1967. His family moved to Malawi in 1971 where he was raised...
’s second novel. It was published in 1999 by Faber and Faber.
Plot summary
The time is November 1899 through February 1900; the place is LadysmithLadysmith, KwaZulu-Natal
Ladysmith is a city in the Uthukela District of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is north-west of Durban and south of Johannesburg. Important industries in the area include food processing, textile and tyre production...
, a small railway town in British Natal
Colony of Natal
The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on May 4, 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May 1910 combined with three other colonies to form the Union of South Africa, as one of its...
near its border with the Boer Republics
Boer Republics
The Boer Republics were independent self-governed republics created by the northeastern frontier branch of the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of the north eastern Cape Province and their descendants in mainly the northern and eastern parts of what is now the country of...
. The Boers have surprised the world with an initial series of victories over the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
and have now laid siege to Ladysmith
Siege of Ladysmith
The Siege of Ladysmith was a protracted engagement in the Second Boer War, taking place between 30 October 1899 and 28 February 1900 at Ladysmith, Natal.-Background:...
. As they shell the town from surrounding hills, people die, disease is rampant, structures collapse, starvation looms, and yet the British muddle through with an improvised cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
match whenever possible.
The setting of Giles Foden’s
Giles Foden
Giles Foden is an English author best known for his award-winning novel The Last King of Scotland .-Biography:Giles Foden was born in Warwickshire in 1967. His family moved to Malawi in 1971 where he was raised...
novel is historically accurate, and a number of historical figures appear as characters; for example, the Boers arrest a young reporter named Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
as he struggles to reach the besieged town, and an India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n lawyer-turned-medical volunteer named Mohandas K. Gandhi becomes more and more committed to his philosophy of active non-violence.
The core of Ladysmith is a fictionalized version of a love story that Giles Foden
Giles Foden
Giles Foden is an English author best known for his award-winning novel The Last King of Scotland .-Biography:Giles Foden was born in Warwickshire in 1967. His family moved to Malawi in 1971 where he was raised...
found in the letters of his great-grandfather, who was a British soldier at Ladysmith
Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal
Ladysmith is a city in the Uthukela District of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is north-west of Durban and south of Johannesburg. Important industries in the area include food processing, textile and tyre production...
. Bella, the Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
hotelkeeper's daughter, falls in love, first, with a British soldier; and later with a Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
barber, thus defying convention and rebelling against her father. The unlikely couple escapes in a balloon.
Release details
- 1999, UK, Faber and Faber ISBN 0-571-19733-7, Pub date 2 December 1999, paperback
- 2000, UK, Faber and Faber ISBN 0-571-20366-3, Pub date 3 November 2000, paperback
- 2000, UK, Alfred A. Knopf ISBN 0-375-40920-3, Pub date ? April 2000, hardback
- 2001, USA, Vintage ISBN 0-375-70837-5, Pub date ? August 2001, paperback