A Child Called Happiness: ‘Endearingly human’ Celeste Hicks

A story of love, race, power and consequences that spans generations

Three days after arriving in Zimbabwe, Natalie discovers an abandoned newborn baby on a hill near her uncle’s farm.

Years earlier, the hill was home to the Mazowe village where Chief Tafara governed at a time of great unrest. Faced with taxation, abductions and loss of their land at the hands of the white settlers, Tafara joined forces with the neighbouring villages in what becomes the first of many uprisings.

A Child Called Happiness is a beautiful and emotive work of historical fiction. This is a story of hope, resilience and reclamation, proving that the choices made by our ancestor’s can echo for many generations to come.

What Reviewers and Readers Say:

‘Collishaw’s characters are delicately created and endearingly human’, Celeste Hicks

‘An incredibly timely book about the human upheaval in all its emotional forms,’ Rosie Garthwaite

‘Steeped in the beautiful smells and sounds of Zimbabwe and evidences Stephan Collishaw’s love of the country… His balanced treatment of an emotive issue will challenge and provoke many readers,’ Phillip Barclay

‘Deftly weaves together two stories set in different periods of Zimbabwe’s history, always taking the reader with him. The vexed issue of land in Zimbabwe and who it belongs to is the common thread. Collishaw creates atmosphere and a sense of place, bringing to life the characters, the history and the politics,’ Mary Harper

‘A gripping yet tender story, played out under a burning African sun, and shot through with thought-provoking authenticity,’ Nick Brownlee