author
A. (Alfred) Arkell-Hardwick
1878–1912
An early 20th-century adventurer and travel writer, he turned dangerous journeys in East Africa into vivid first-hand narrative. His best-known book blends expedition memoir, hunting story, and close observation from the colonial frontier.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in London in 1878, Alfred Arkell-Hardwick lived a notably restless life. Accounts of his career describe him going to sea as a teenager, later spending time in southern and eastern Africa, and eventually writing from direct experience rather than from a distance.
He is best known for An Ivory Trader in North Kenia (1903), a memoir of expedition travel through what is now Kenya. The book follows his journey through Kikuyu country toward Galla-land and includes material on the Rendili and Burkeneji peoples, reflecting the era's mix of exploration writing, imperial adventure, and ethnographic curiosity.
Arkell-Hardwick died in 1912, still a young man. Though not widely read today, his work remains of interest as a vivid period account of East Africa and of the attitudes, ambitions, and hazards that shaped British travel writing at the start of the 20th century.