Brian Duncan

Brian Duncan is a British writer, born in India and left when he was 12 to go to high school and college in England. He worked in Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe, spending over 20 years in the region, and became fascinated by the history. His work as an economist, mostly on aid projects in Africa and Asia, took him to many other countries.

When he retired he bought, in partnership with Tess, The Brickhouse Inn in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and sold it in 2002. Brian and Tess like to travel, particularly to India, whenever they can.

'The Settler' is Brian Duncan's first published novel, with a historical setting in Southern Africa in 1890-1902. It's the first in his 'Lion and Leopard Trilogy', and won the Historical Fiction Category in the IndieReader 2013 Discovery Awards.

The second novel, 'Lake of Slaves' is set in Nyasaland (now Malawi) in 1887-1895; it was published in June 2014.

The third novel 'The Lion and the Leopard' was published in June 2016, and is set in the Lake Nyasa/Lake Tanganyika area during the First World War.

The 'Lion' in the 'Lion and Leopard Trilogy' refers to the British South Africa Police (BSAP), whose badge is a lion. The 'Leopard' refers to the Nyasaland Volunteer Reserve (NVR), which has a leopard in its badge. Both units played a prominent role in the 1914-18 War, fighting the Germans in Nyasaland (now Malawi), Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), German East Africa (now Tanzania) and Portuguese East Africa (now Mozambique).

His fourth novel is set in Rhodesia at the time when he lived there. The ill-fated Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was dissolved. African nationalists demanded independence from colonial rule. The white-led government of Rhodesia refused to accept Britain’s terms and declared independence unilaterally (UDI). A bitter civil war developed and forms the background to the story.

Brian Duncan served in the BSAP Reserve, the NVR, and the Northern Rhodesia Police Reserve - but not in the WW1! He is now working on a fourth novel, set in North Africa during WW2, and based on the service of Rhodesian units, including RAF Squadron 237.