Elspeth Huxley: A Biography

by C.S. Nicholls

Elspeth Huxley, who died in 1997, is chiefly remembered for her lyrical and evocative memoir The Flame Trees of Thika (1959). Yet this was only one of the thirty books she wrote, and it took just a few months of her remarkably active life to compose.

A woman of compelling personality and exceptional energy, Elspeth Huxley was not only a celebrated writer, but also a farmer, broadcaster, journalist, conservationist, political thinker, magistrate, and government adviser. She was a vivid chronicler of colonial Kenya, and became increasingly recognized as an observer and interpreter of African affairs over a period of profound change. Initially a staunch defender of the white settlers, she would later come to support moves toward African independence.

After a childhood spent in East Africa and wartime Britain, Elspeth married a grandson of Thomas Huxley and cousin of Aldous Huxley, whom she knew well. Her wide circle also later included George and Joy Adamson, the Leakeys, and Peter Scott (whose biography she wrote). Whatever their subject, her books reveal the adventurousness, warmth, perception, and occasional astringency that made up her own personality; they are also notable for their acute observation and great social range, encompassing the lives of Kenya’s poor white farmers, the frivolous Happy Valley set, and Africans alike.

For this, the first biography of Elspeth Huxley, C. S. Nicholls has made extensive use of her papers and letters---including those to and from Elspeth’s formidable mother Nellie and her hapless father Jos. Elspeth A Biography is not merely a fascinating portrait of an extraordinary woman, but an absorbing account of an entire era of colonial and British history.

Genres: Biography, Africa, Kenya

482 pages, Hardcover

First published April 15, 2002

About the author

Christine Stephanie Nicholls

Editor at the Oxford University Press

Reviews

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-researched and well-written with a nice bibliography of colonial era works on Kenya. This might not appeal to readers who are only interested in the Kenyan aspects of Huxley's work, but I found it an interesting insight into a woman who was a professional journalist and novelist during a time period when married mothers were generally not expected to have careers that involved extensive travel away from home. Huxley would leave her husband and child for weeks or even months to do research for projects. Her life was an interesting one with contact with lots of interesting people. A high quality biography, readable but backed by solid research and fact finding. Extensive use of archival material and private papers made it a really rich source for people interested in Huxley's real life beyond "The Flame Trees of Thika."

[JUDITH · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a serious and, on occasion, stodgy biography, but if you're interested in Elspeth Huxley, if only from Flame Trees of Thika, it's a revelation of her time and place, with many delightful anecdotes and quite a bit of name-dropping (which tends to be interesting only if you know the name dropped! More fascinating to me was to discover what a prolific author Elspeth was and analyst on radio. She was a pragmatic critic of colonialism and one can observe her opinions evolving over the years as conditions in Kenya changed.

[Avary Doubleday · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though it was long and I read it slowly, I really liked it! I was happy to learn that though Elspeth had eagerly left Kenya as a young woman, she still loved it and returned to visit almost annually -- even after her mother finally left and settled in Portugal! Elspeth wrote an amazing number of books and articles. The ones best received seem to have been those about Africa.

[Sugar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could not put this down despite its size. A fair, balanced and warm assessment of Elspeth Huxley's life.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written biography.

[Charlotte Beauvoisin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written book about a talented writer who chronicled a fascinating period of history.

"Elspeth Huxley grew up in colonial Kenya, during a time of little doubt about the rightness of the British Empire in its assumed civilising mission. There she began to write about country and its inhabitants... Thereafter her pen never ceased, and her 42 books included novels, biographies, detective stories and political commentary, indeed a medium that would get her ideas across. She was also a broadcaster and journalist."

Huxley was many things (possibly even a spy?) who chronicled shifting changes in Kenya and Africa and changed her mind about many things. That made me like her.

I read this book before reading Flame Trees of Thika (a story I had watched on TV as a teenager) and was only really interested in East Africa. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the whole biography.

[Marybeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally got around to reading the sequel to The Flame Trees of Thika and wondered what took me so long. Loved the miniseries some years ago on PBS.

[Sharonh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent biography of Elsbeth Huxley, author of The Flame Trees of Thika - interesting read - wonderful woman!

[Rhode PVD · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hadn't expected to enjoy it as thoroughly as I did. It is a thick hunk of a book, but keeps your interest throughout.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

brilliant