Vengeance
14 May 2026Imprint: Zaffre
Synopsis
A JOURNEY FOR A BETTER LIFE. A PAST AS DARK AS IT IS INESCAPABLE.
Praise for Wilbur Smith:
'A master storyteller' Sunday Times
'No one does adventure quite like Smith' Daily Mirror
'Best historical novelist' Stephen King
South Africa, 1828
Chased from the hills of Zululand and running for their lives, Ralph Courtney and his adopted family - Ann and little Harry - are left with no water, no food and no clothes to protect them from the sweltering African sun. After crossing the Drakensberg Mountains, desperate to put the past behind him and become a better man, all that matters to Ralph is finding somewhere to start a new chapter and build a home where Ann and Harry can live in peace.
When Harry is gravely injured, they are saved by a group of missionaries who take them to their station at Mahikeng. Although comfortable, Ralph is not happy to stay, and determined to find a wagon to transport his family to Cape Town, he sets off for Philippolis. But things do not go to plan and Ralph finds himself on trial for murder.
As the trial draws to a close, Ralph's true identity is revealed and the story of his imprisonment and escape from Robben Island ten years before comes to light. Ralph is transported to the penal colony of Van Diemen's land in Tasmania, the worst prison on earth, and the outlook is bleak. All he wants is to get back to Ann and Harry and live a better life, but can that ever be possible as the past keeps coming back to haunt him?
Meanwhile, Ann and Harry, convinced that Ralph is dead, come face to face with the enemy they thought they'd left behind . . .
BOOK 26 IN THE LONG-RUNNING EPIC HISTORICAL SAGA OF THE COURTNEY FAMILY AND THE 8TH BOOK IN THE BIRDS OF PREY SEQUENCE, FOLLOWING ON FROM WORLDWIDE BESTSELLER WARRIOR KING.
Praise for Wilbur Smith:
'A master storyteller' Sunday Times
'No one does adventure quite like Smith' Daily Mirror
'Best historical novelist' Stephen King
South Africa, 1828
Chased from the hills of Zululand and running for their lives, Ralph Courtney and his adopted family - Ann and little Harry - are left with no water, no food and no clothes to protect them from the sweltering African sun. After crossing the Drakensberg Mountains, desperate to put the past behind him and become a better man, all that matters to Ralph is finding somewhere to start a new chapter and build a home where Ann and Harry can live in peace.
When Harry is gravely injured, they are saved by a group of missionaries who take them to their station at Mahikeng. Although comfortable, Ralph is not happy to stay, and determined to find a wagon to transport his family to Cape Town, he sets off for Philippolis. But things do not go to plan and Ralph finds himself on trial for murder.
As the trial draws to a close, Ralph's true identity is revealed and the story of his imprisonment and escape from Robben Island ten years before comes to light. Ralph is transported to the penal colony of Van Diemen's land in Tasmania, the worst prison on earth, and the outlook is bleak. All he wants is to get back to Ann and Harry and live a better life, but can that ever be possible as the past keeps coming back to haunt him?
Meanwhile, Ann and Harry, convinced that Ralph is dead, come face to face with the enemy they thought they'd left behind . . .
BOOK 26 IN THE LONG-RUNNING EPIC HISTORICAL SAGA OF THE COURTNEY FAMILY AND THE 8TH BOOK IN THE BIRDS OF PREY SEQUENCE, FOLLOWING ON FROM WORLDWIDE BESTSELLER WARRIOR KING.
Details
14 May 2026432 pages
9781785124020Imprint: Zaffre
