Between the Mountain and the Ocean is a collection of twelve short fictional stories set in the heartland of KwaZulu Natal, between the Drakensberg Mountain and the Indian Ocean. Stretching over time, place and subject the stories capture the unique quality of beauty, allure, humour and menace of this most extraordinary maritime province of South Africa.
From a young English immigrant woman caught up in the tragedy of the Bambatha rebellion of 1906 to a very modern woman called to defend her neighbourhood in the riots of the 2020’s. From a Russian Princess sequestered in a rambling Midlands mansion in the 1920’s to a prominent lawyer seeking to recapture a secret love lost in the confusion of the States of Emergency in the 1980’s.
There is the aged Inkosi, battling to maintain honour and tradition in a terrifyingly changed world; Baby Paddy the fun-loving rogue forced reluctantly into leadership of his crime family; the beautiful black horse deemed untamable until he bought the bad guys to book and, of course, Dudley Blenkinsop, the Last Cowboy of Rugby, who played his final game on his terms, and won.
This collection of tales from the heartland aims to intrigue, amuse and give cause for reflection about what it means to live in this exciting and challenging province.
About the Author
Brian Pottinger
Brian Pottinger was born in Durban and educated at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and at Harvard where he was a Nieman Fellow of Journalism. His family traces back to English and Mauritian roots. He is the former Editor and Publisher of the South African Sunday Times and former Managing Director of BDFM Publishers. Subsequently, he worked throughout Anglophone Africa on start-up projects in the media and media retail space. He chaired the family’s North Coast sugar farming business for some years. On retirement, he and his wife, Susan Leila, owned and ran a bistro for five years in a quaint North Cornwall fishing village before being lured back to his birth province. They now live in Sheffield Beach, where he contributes articles to local and international publications and is active in local civic affairs. They have two children and five grandchildren. This is his eighth book.
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