Conservationist, scholar, soldier, white hunter and fabled lover - Denys Finch Hatton was an aristocrat of leonine nonchalance. After a dazzling career at Eton and Oxford, he sailed in 1910 for British East Africa - still then the land of the pioneer. Sara Wheeler reveals the truth behind his love affairs with the glamorous aviatrix Beryl Markham, and - famously - with Karen Blixen, a romance immortalised in her memoir Out of Africa.

'No one who ever met him', his Times obituary concluded, 'whether man or woman, old or young, white or black, failed to come under his spell'.

A brilliant new biography by the acclaimed author of Cherry and Terra Incognita.

About the Author
Sara Wheeler's books include the international bestseller Terra Incognita: Travels in Antarctica, of which the Telegraph reviewer wrote, 'I do not think there will ever be a better book on the Antarctic.' The Magnetic North: Notes from the Arctic Circle, was chosen as Book of the Year by Will Self, Michael Palin, A. N. Wilson and others. She has published two biographies of travellers: Cherry: A Life of Apsley Cherry-Garrard, and Too Close to the Sun: The Life and Times of Denys Finch Hatton, and was immensely relieved to write about women at last in O My America!. She lives in London.

Reviews
A good story... a fitting memorial * Observer *
A fascinating story of a man trying to outrun the social upheavals of the twentieth century * Herald *
Wheeler has made excellent use of the sources at hand... Moreover, Wheeler writes well, and has a gift - shared by only very few - for pinning down the smells and atmosphere of the African landscape * Literary Review *
She dazzles the reader with an evocation of time and place.. her description of the east Africa Campaign is detailed and enthralling -- Keith Dovkants * Scotsman *
She writes beautifully, with a vivid turn of phrase, a sound grasp of history and an impish humour -- Andrew Lycett * Sunday Times *



Book Information
ISBN 9780099450276
Author Sara Wheeler
Format Paperback
Page Count 304
Imprint Vintage
Publisher Vintage Publishing
Weight(grams) 240g
Dimensions(mm) 196mm * 123mm * 26mm