Bertram Mitford

Born in Bath on June 13, 1855, Bertram Mitford was an English novelist, essayist, and critic who went to southern Africa in 1874. That experience shaped much of his writing, and he became especially known for fiction set in South Africa.

Mitford wrote extensively across adventure fiction and related non-fiction, producing more than forty books. He was a contemporary of H. Rider Haggard, and many of his best-known works draw on frontier settings, imperial conflict, and the landscapes and peoples of southern Africa.

He was educated at Hurstpierpoint College, later married Zima Helen Gentle, and died in Cowfold, Sussex, on October 4, 1914. Today he is remembered mainly for his energetic colonial adventure novels and for the way his work reflects British attitudes and interests of its time.