Follow Me to Africa by Penny Haw ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

 

Historical fiction inspired by the story of groundbreaking paleoanthropologist Mary Leakey, Follow Me to Africa is a sweeping, dual-timeline story of intergenerational friendship, a meditation on the beauty of the natural world, and a celebration of the women who pave the way for those to come.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site.  A free book was provided for an honest review.

February 2025; Sourcebooks Landmark; 978-1728295459
audio, ebook, print (304 pages); biographical fiction

This book is a beautifully written historical fiction novel that is told in alternating chapters by two women.  The setting in Africa is an important part of the story and the author writes about it in glowing terms that almost makes you wish that you could be there.

It's 1983 and Grace has traveled to Tanzania at Olduvai George with her estranged father.  She doesn't much like or respect her father who abandoned their family years before but since her mother has just died she doesn't have much choice.  Mary Leakey, the world-famous paleontologist, is at the same archeological dig and takes an interest in Grace.  She asks Grace to help her pack her fifty years of work and memories.  At first, Grace is very reluctant to help but then she and Mary begin to bond.  It turns out that they both love Africa and the animals that live there.  An injured cheetah shows up at the camp and Grace and Mary work together to rescue her which really cements their relationship.  The more they work together, the more they realize that there are similarities in their pasts as well as their current lives.

During Mary's chapters, she takes us back to her early life and her love of archeology.  She meets the well-known paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey when he asks her to illustrate a book that he's writing.  He was much older than her plus he was married but they fell in love with each other and she went with him to East Africa.  As she began her work there, she became famous in her own right, and it allowed her to step out of Louis's shadow and become known for her own work. 

I didn't know much about Mary Leakey until I read this book and learned about her love of Africa and archeology.  I had heard her name before but spent some time googling information about her after I finished the book.  She was a true pioneer and made a tremendous difference in her field.  She was also an early feminist who blazed her own trail.  

I really liked the growing relationship between Grace and Mary.  Mary was able to mentor the younger girl and helped her find out what her goals in life were and how to achieve them."Everyone wants to contribute... We all want to be worth something, do our bit, and matter somehow. Work it out, girl, for yourself - before someone else does it for you and you find yourself stuck in a life you don't want." (p23)

Buy Follow Me to Africa at Amazon

Susan Roberts grew up in Michigan but loves the laid-back life at her home in the Piedmont area of North Carolina where she is three hours from the beach to the east and the mountains in the west.  She reads almost anything but her favorite genres are Southern Fiction and Historical Fiction.   

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