Expedition to the Mountains of the Moon

When I began writing these tales of Burton & Swinburne, I couldn't help but worry that I might be insulting the memory of men and women who, by virtue of their hard work and astonishing talents, had made their mark on history.

My concerns were assuaged when enthusiastic readers told me that, while reading my novels, they repeatedly consulted Wikipedia and other sources to learn more about the real lives of the people I had “hijacked.”

This delights me. It means, for example, that PC53 William Trounce might now be recognised by a few more as the hero who stepped up to the mark when John Francis tried to assassinate Queen Victoria in 1842 (and yes, I meddled with that historical fact). It means a greater awareness of Richard Spruce, who, despite being treated as a villain in these works, was in truth a quiet and unassuming man possessed of sheer genius in the subject of botany. It means more people turning to Swinburne's astonishing poetry, more people marvelling at Lord Palmerston's political astuteness, more people wondering whether Samuel Gooch really existed, then finding out that he did, and that he was amazing.

This, I hope, will be considered by any descendants of the characters herein who might feel offended by my treatment of them. Please note that these novels are very obviously flights of utter fancy and very definitely not biography. My alternative histories are places where individuals have encountered different challenges and opportunities to those met in real life, and have thus developed into very, very different people. They should not be in any way regarded as accurate depictions of those who actually lived.

In this volume, my account of Africa circa 1863 follows closely the descriptions left to us by Sir Richard Francis Burton himself. His The Lake Regions of Central Africa (1860) is, in my opinion, by far the most fascinating journal of any of the Victorian explorers. Burton tended to adopt his own spelling for villages, towns, and regions, and throughout the African chapters I've retained his version of place-names.

Finally, my thanks and deepest appreciation to Lou Anders, Emma Barnes, and Jon Sullivan.