author
William Ross King
1822–1890
A British army officer who turned firsthand experience into vivid travel and natural history writing, he wrote about life in South Africa, India, and Canada in the mid-1800s. His books mix observation, adventure, and the attitudes of the colonial world he moved through.
1 Audiobook
Campaigning in Kaffirland; Or, Scenes and Adventures in the Kaffir War of 1851-52
by William Ross King
About the author
Born in 1822, William Ross King served as an officer in the 74th Highlanders and is known to have spent time in Canada, South Africa, and India. His writing grew out of that military life, giving readers an on-the-ground view of the places he travelled and the campaigns he witnessed.
His best-known works include Campaigning in Kaffirland (1853), based on his experience in South Africa during the frontier war of 1851–52; The Sportsman and Naturalist in Canada (1866), a lively mix of hunting, fishing, and natural history; and The Aboriginal Tribes of the Nilgiri Hills (1870), drawn from his time in India. Together, these books show a writer interested in landscape, wildlife, and everyday detail as much as action.
King died in 1890. Today, his books are often read as historical documents as well as adventure narratives: engaging for their immediacy, but also shaped by the imperial outlook of their time.