author
Frances E. (Frances Ellen) Colenso
1849–1887
A sharp-eyed Victorian writer and historian, she is best remembered for her searching accounts of the Anglo-Zulu War and for speaking up for the Zulu people after the conflict. Her work mixes firsthand knowledge, political courage, and a strong sense that official stories should be challenged.
1 Audiobook
History of the Zulu war and its origin
by Frances E. (Frances Ellen) Colenso
About the author
Born in 1849, Frances Ellen Colenso was an English historian and writer closely associated with South Africa and the history of the Zulu Wars. She was the daughter of John William Colenso, the Bishop of Natal, and became known for writing about the causes and consequences of the 1879 Anglo-Zulu War.
Her best-known books include History of the Zulu War and Its Origin and The Ruin of Zululand. In them, she argued against many British official accounts and defended both the Zulu case and figures she believed had been treated unfairly. That made her an unusually independent and controversial voice for her time.
Colenso died in 1887 at only 37. Though her life was short, her books remain valuable for readers interested in colonial history, the Anglo-Zulu War, and the way courageous writers can question the accepted version of events.