An Unsuitable Woman

This is a well researched and highly readable novel based on the 'Happy Valley' set in Africa. This coterie of hedonistic aristocratic white colonialists are not exactly my cup of tea but the author does an excellent job in bringing them to life. The narrator is (at the beginning of the story) 14 year old Theo, a middle class boy of extraordinary good looks who immediately befriends the fascinating Freddie and Sylvie even though they are several years older than him. His relationship with them and the repercussions of this dominate the novel but it is the story of his sister Maud that resonates most with me. Her heartbreaking story of forbidden love and fight against colonialism is moving and Theo becomes a much more sympathetic character in his interactions with her.

"They were careless people... they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.”

This is the Great Gatsby set in Kenya. The above Gatsby quote easily applies to the Happy Valley hedonists of this novel because, as with all hedonists, their behaviour is at some point hurtful - in order to achieve their own maximum joy, others are forced to lose some of theirs. Besides, as Sylvie identifies: "No one can have everything they want; the gods don't let that happen."

The Hunters is is a rich, beautifully descriptive and well-researched book, that made me feel like I was in the scorching heat of Africa, surrounded by the sights, smells, food and people of the period described.

The most interesting character is certainly Maud, the lead character's sister. Her development and journey is the one we identify with most as modern readers, as other characters are largely unlikeable or frustrating for a plethora of reasons, whereas Maud is the voice of the future and of reason. She is the panacea to Freddie, Sylvia and Theo.

Inevitably for the period and place, the novel is forced to explore the racist thinking that was prevalent in those times. The sadder part of that is that a lot of this thinking still exists today and some of the political views espoused are not dissimilar to what we might read about today. A timely read.

Many thanks to NetGalley, The Borough Press, Harper Collins Publishers and Kat Gordon for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I will be purchasing this novel for a friend once it is published because I thought it was so good.

It's the roaring 1920s, and Theo Miller is just fourteen when he moves to Nairobi with his family. Having been strictly raised and consistently disciplined by his mother, the young teenager had not been prepared for the changes that were about to come to his life. But after he has met the stunning American heiress, Sylvie, and her strong willed lover, Freddie, the change is inevitable.

Theo finds himself in a completely different kind of life, one in which he no longer wants to inherit his father's place as a Director of the Kenyan Railways . Infatuated with Sylvie, she and her company is all he can think of anymore. However, as years go by, Theo will have to come to some hard decisions. Are these people really his friends? Are they really harmless, as he has been telling himself for years? As the Second World War rapidly approaches and Kenya is on a hard political and cultural place, Theo will have to choose between protecting his sister or his so-called friends, while making some really hard choices for his future.

The Hunters is a highly enjoyable read. Set in an era of white colonialism and oppressed natives, the story of Theo is realistic, raw at times, and utterly captivating. Its strongest asset is definitely its characters, with Theo's sister, Maud, standing out among all the self-centered characters with whom her brother has been involved. Incredibly well researched and historically accurate, this is a book that all fans of historical fiction will enjoy.

Thanks HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction and netgalley for this ARC,

Kat Gordon really makes you feel like you are in Africa with this novel. The descriptions are intense, colorful, and cinematic, Loved the saga of this family and the Happy Valley set.

This historical novel takes place in Kenya, from 1925 to 1937. It begins with a family heading to the Norfolk Hotel in Nairobi. Mr William Miller is the Director of the railway the family are travelling on. His wife, Jessie Miller, is a slightly unpredictable presence in the life of her children – twelve year old Maud and fourteen year old Theo.

Theo is described as variously ‘girlish looking,’ and pretty. Bullied at school, he is hoping for a new start in Kenya and certainly gets one when, at the hotel, he draws the attention of the glamorous Freddie Hamilton and Sylvie de Croy. For anyone who has read about the Happy Valley Set in Kenya before, it is soon apparent that Sylvie is based upon Alice de Janze, while Freddie was inspired by Josslyn Hay, Earl of Erroll.

Those two, real life, characters, were involved in a murder mystery and this novel also begins with a murder; although we have to wait until the end of the novel to discover who died. Like the Earl of Erroll, Freddie has links to Oswald Mosley and this novel touches on the impending war in Europe, as well as Colonialism and the history of Kenya.

Of course, the Happy Valley set were notorious for scandalous behaviour, and, once Theo becomes involved with Freddie and Sylvie, he is thrilled by their glamorous lifestyle. By comparison, his parents appear boring, his mother controlling and his father dull. It is not utterly believable that a fourteen year old boy would be so accepted by these privileged, exotic group. Still, both Theo and Maud make an interesting comparison to the adults around them, and their eyes allow us to see everything with innocent eyes. Overall, an enjoyable and readable historical novel. I received a copy of this book from the publishers, via NetGalley, for review.

An engrossing portrayal of colonial Africa that gives a wonderful sense of menace and corruption under the thin veneer of white rule. You can smell Africa in this heady novel that tells the story of two siblings, brought out to Africa in the thirties by their father's job, and how Africa shapes and changes them. Theo, at 14 and on the cusp of manhood, falls instantly for the glamorous Sylvie and Freddie, her friend, part of the Happy Valley set. Maud is a gentler, thoughtful girl who finds and experiences a very different Africa to Theo. Their lives are poles apart but the sweeping saga conveys the conflicts and dangers, thrills and savagery that are part of this life. I so enjoyed this and read it compulsively. I loved the blend of fact and fiction and the clear-eyed, unbiased view of life under the African skies.

What's it about?

Theo Miller is fourteen years old when he first sets foot on the dusty Kenyan plains. Neither he nor his sister Maud are ready for the heat and dazzle of 1920s Nairobi and they quickly get swept up in the drama of the ex-pat community. 

Theo meets Sylvie de Croÿ and Freddie, Lord Hamilton. They are magnetically charming and accept the teenager into their inner circle, a whirlwind of glamour and hedonism. Yet behind the allure lies danger, betrayal and violence that is barely kept in check. As storm clouds gather over Kenya, Theo must find his way back to his family before it's too late. 

My thoughts

There's something intoxicating about this book. The dark glamour of the Happy Valley set, the fascination of 1920s Kenya, and the seething undercurrent of emotion all combine to make this story really very special. I didn't want it to be over. 

With regards to the style, if you think F. Scott Fitzgerald crossed with Karen Blixen, you won't be far off. At some points, the behaviour of the Happy Valley set was so reminiscent of The Great Gatsby that I felt the characters could have been lifted from some lost Fitzgerald novel. Yet these characters were largely based on real people (Sylvie on Alice de Janzé - even her daughters' names are the same) so the plot inspiration is probably minimal here. 

Gordon has certainly done her research. The descriptions of Nairobi are wonderfully evocative; you can almost feel the heat rising from the pages. The way she writes about the land and the animals is beautifully expressive; there's a particular encounter with a leopard that stopped my breath. The people are also well-depicted. It would clearly have helped that Gordon had a wealth of source material to draw from, but her skill in putting them on the page is undeniable. She inspires an odd mix of revulsion and pity through their characterisation, again reminiscent of Fitzgerald. I loved how the sheen on their lives was so easily rubbed away; it made them very real for me. 

Then there are the characters of Theo and Maud. As far as I'm aware, they are both entirely fictional and serve as a window to the expat world. We grow and change with Theo, see him become an adult but one unable to shake off his childhood obsession with the Happy Valley set. Through him, we have a glimpse of their world, and through Maud, we have an insight to the Kenyan farming crowd. I won't give anything away about their lives, except to say that they are subject to forces bigger than them. 

Would I recommend it?

Yes, definitely. I've already got it earmarked for my mother. 

If you enjoy it, there are myriad other works about this subset of Kenyan society. I recommend White Mischief by James Fox and The Bolter by Frances Osborne.

This is a very well written and researched book set in 1930s Kenya, not a location with which I had any previous knowledge. It seemed apparent that the author knows and loves the country as her evocation of place is superb with beautiful descriptions of scenery, flora and fauna. Kat Gordon also has an excellent sense of time and this can only have come about through research. Her writing clearly establishes the growing tensions in 1930s Kenya underscored by the completely different lifestyles of the privileged ex-pat, mostly British, community and the local black community.

The plot concerns the 'Happy Valley' set, the main protagonists being Freddie and Sylvie, pseudonyms for two real life characters of the time: Josslyn Hay and Alice de Janze, The story is narrated by Theo who arrived in Kenya aged 14 with his parents and sister from Edinburgh. Theo is in thrall to the glittering, hedonistic lifestyles of Freddie and Sylvie and over the ensuing years becomes completely seduced by their life and values to the detriment of everyone else around him. I found the voice of Theo very convincing but think I would also have liked more of Maud's (his sister) voice in the story. She is a very important character in the whole tale and one of the few likeable people in the book.

While the novel mostly concerns itself with the relationships between the characters this is the thread through which the reader learns more about the development of the railways in Kenya, the growth of fascism in the UK and Kenya and the impact of the second world war on capitalism and privilege.

The Hunters is not a comfortable read but it is gripping and eloquent.

I received a complimentary e-version of this book from the publisher via Net Galley in return for an honest review.

I thought this was a well-researched and enjoyable novel about the Happy Valley set. It was more than just a romp through 1920's Kenya and asked some important questions about colonialism and the negative affects it had on the indigenous population.
I also like that it showed the darker side of the Happy Valley set, something that can often be too romanticised. Really enjoyed it and would recommend.

The Hunters is a very atmospheric novel set in Kenya in the 1920s and 30s. The book really shines in its descriptions of time and place, which make it come alive. The story moves slowly, but is quite engaging and something new to me. Overall, an enjoyable, thought-provoking read!

Vacation time, time to escape, to dream and relax.



Ever since visiting Kenya for the first time in the late seventies have I held a special affection for Kenya and Africa which has affected many of my reading choices over the years. To name only a few, Karen Blixen’s classic and famous “Out of Africa”, Beryl Markham’s “West of Sunset”, Kuki Gallman’s “I dreamed of Africa”, Paula McLain's “Circling the sun” and James Fox's “White Mischief”. My latest pick, Kat Gordon's “The Hunters” which is set in 1925-1938 in what was then British East Africa borrows heavily from the characters in “White Mischief”, also called “The Happy Valley set” but giving them new identities and using the liberties of fiction.



The beauty, wealth, drinking and sexual activities during wild parties of the Happy Valley Set were scandalous and frowned upon by the mostly conservative white East African community. Theo Miller is fifteen when he and his sister Maud arrive in Nairobi with their parents, their father is to oversee the building of the new railroad in Kenya. Theo with his good looks immediately catches the attention of Sylvie de Croy and Freddie with their circle of heavily partying friends. He has his first introduction into drinking and watching their scandalous behavior very soon, feeling strongly attracted in particular to Sylvie de Croy , her husband Nicolas, a French Count and Freddie, Sylvie’s lover. Theo and Maud fall in love with their new life considering Kenya their true home, enchanted by the wilderness, the animals and natives. The life of the British settlers then with mostly wealthy backgrounds and their life style is something completely foreign to us today as was their paternising behavior towards the Kenyan tribes using them as cheap labour to afford their life style. Theo has a complex relationship with his mother who is at first less than enchanted with her new home, distancing herself from her children and husband with volunteer work chosing to life mostly in Nairobi and not their Riff valley house in Kiboko.
The novel is told from Theo's perspective over 13 years of his life, from his coming of age into adulthood, his destructive passion for Sylvie and admiration for Freddie, his love for his sister Maud. “The Hunters” makes for a great holiday read, a good page-turner with many colorful characters painting a very atmospheric portrait of Kenya up to WW II. I found the ending a little too predictable but this did not diminish my joy reading this book.