Thomas Crawford, His Career, Character, and Works: A Eulogy (1858)

In a bid to escape the poverty of the economically devastated Copperbelt province, retired teacher Earnest Chitinansala relocates to a shanty compound on the outskirts of the capital city. Plagued by vivid nightmares in his new home, his life takes a turn for the worse when he accuses ex-musician Pastor Mulenga of practicing witchcraft. An affair with childless Charity Kakando at his new place of work only serves to enhance the protagonistas anxieties. Charity, a young and pretty nurse, eventually enlists the help of an aexpatriatea witchdoctor from neighbouring Tanzania to win back her disaffected husband and help her conceive. Mawazo Tales, the authoras first novel, is a story about contemporary life in Zambiaas urban areas. It is a humorous and colourful portrayal of the rise of lucrative healing churches and the plight of a people whose lives are blighted by economic downfall and influenced by traditional customs and norms.