Manly Pursuits

by Ann Harries

It is Cape Town, in the year 1899. Diamond tycoon Cecil Rhodes believes that he has only months to live, and that the only thing that can save him is the sound of English birdsong. He recruits Francis Wills to transport 200 birds to Cape Town, but on arrival the birds refuse to sing. This is but the first obstacle for Wills, who finds himself irresistibly drawn to intrigue, in a country on the brink of war.

Genres: Historical Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alternating between Oxford and Cape Town in the latter half of the 19th century, this is an extraordinary tale of the late-in-life adventures of a frail ornithologist, Professor Wills, who is cajoled away from his sequestered life as a reclusive don by Cecil Rhodes, and given the rather eccentric task of bringing hundreds of British song birds to South Africa and introducing them on the slopes of Table Mountain were Rhodes has his home. This is but the latest example of Rhodes belief in the superiority in all things English. An English avian colonization to match the human colonization he has encouraged by white English men and women.

In the course of this task Wills finds himself drawn into the eccentric antics and significant histories that surround the weakening colossus that was Cecil Rhodes. Among the coteries of Rhodes' sharp blue-eyed young men, the author effortlessly slides better known fin-de-siècle figures such as Wilde, Kipling, Ruskin, Carrol, Jameson, Milner and Selous as well as the bizarre Polish/Russian Princess Radzwill who tried to trap Rhodes in marriage or at least get her hands on a part of his fortune. With erotic undertones which remain teasingly suggestive, this delightful weaving of ornithology, history, biography and intrigue symbolically reveals Olive Schreiner among the undergrowth on Rhodes' mountain as the whispering of the war and Rhodes political demise to come. The urgency of her pleas, so significant to us now, are viewed as shrill and hysterical in the discreet libraries of men more or less devoted to the imperialist mission. Ann Harries wittily develops the character of Wills from fearfully pedantic to naively (or omnisciently?) enchanted as this anti-heroic hero is pleasurably conjured into conflicts of conscience, loyalties, desire and power.

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I found most fascinating in this book was the romantic intrigues of the great authors who were Wills'(protagonist) friends. It gave me a real insight into the world of South Africa and the English narcissism of the turn of the 20th century. Images evoked by this book have stayed with me over the five years since I read it.

[Danial Tanvir · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a novel based in cape town,south africa in the year 1899.
it is actually about a diamond tycoon who is called cecil rhodes who has only a couple of months to live and the only thing that can save him is the song of english bird song so what he does then is that he asks the worlds leading expert in bird song francis wills to help him do so.
then there are two hundred birds which are then transported to cape town,south africa.
the problem then is that they refuse to sing and this creates a lot of trouble for him.
there is talks about oscar wilde and there is a war going on in africa.
cecil rhodes begs francis wills to help him and to safe his life.
the british are superior to the people of africa.
he then meets a girl called maria.
her full name is maria van den bergh.
the birds then start singing.

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great writing, but the plot was so strange. I think there were so many real-life historical characters (Oscar Wilde, Rudyard Kipling etc) that the plot felt very messy, I think it would have been better if focussed just on Cecil Rhodes.

[Charlotte Stobart · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was liking it and the stuff with Oscar Wilde started to get weird. Still, a very interesting book with an unbelievably whiney main character

[Owlseyes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fiction is great; it allows you to read about interactions between characters such as Cecil Rhodes,Oscar Wilde,Lewis Carrol and R. Kipling....and an ornithologist invited to bring western birds to South Africa.The book recalls Boers wartime, the Transvaal in 1895...; mentions Sir Jameson who assisted Rhodes' negotiations with native peoples.

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess that era and setting are not that interesting to me, or birding isn't what I consider manly. This is a book of strange characters brought together in unlikely circumstances, at least in my mind. Maybe with some more education about the time and place would make the book more interesting.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I normally enjoy stories about Africa and famous people separately but somehow when combined here with searching for birdsong, it didn't work for me.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Odd book and choc full of diverse reference matter