Happy Valley: The Scandalous Rise and Fall of Kenya's Settler Aristocracy (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798235009998)

Thomas and Clara Erskine leave behind their quiet life in London after an unexpected inheritance draws them to a coffee farm in the White Highlands near Nyeri. What begins as the promise of a new future soon draws them into the most notorious society in the British Empire.

As they travel from Mombasa to Nairobi, dine at the legendary Norfolk Hotel, and build a life beneath the shadow of Mount Kenya, the Erskines discover that the colony is ruled as much by gossip as by law. Behind the elegance of country estates and lavish parties lies the scandalous world of Happy Valley, where fortunes are made, marriages collapse, and reputations can be destroyed overnight.

From the extravagant Idina Sackville at Slains to the charismatic Josslyn Hay, later the Earl of Erroll, from Lord Delamere and Karen Blixen to Alice de Janzé, Beryl Markham, and Denys Finch Hatton, Clara finds herself drawn into a circle of remarkable men and women whose lives would become the stuff of legend.

As the years pass, glittering parties give way to whispered betrayals, forbidden affairs, shocking murders, and the slow collapse of a world that believes itself untouchable. Clara and Thomas soon discover that no one can remain a mere spectator. Friendships carry risks, secrets demand a price, and each choice draws them deeper into a society from which there is no easy escape.

Happy Valley: The Scandalous Rise and Fall of Kenya's Settler Aristocracy is a sweeping historical novel that brings colonial Kenya vividly to life through unforgettable characters, breathtaking landscapes, and one of the most extraordinary social circles the world has ever known.