Bertram Mitford was a colonial writer, novelist, essayist and cultural critic who wrote forty-four books, most of which are set in South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

.

He was a contemporary of H Rider Haggard. A member of the Mitford family

Mitford family

The Mitford family is a minor aristocratic English family that traces its origins in Northumberland back to the time of the Norman conquest. In the Middle Ages they had been Border Reivers based in Redesdale. The main family line had seats at Mitford Castle, Mitford Old Manor House and from 1828...

, he was the third son of Edward Ledwich Osbalderston Mitford (1811–1912). The latter became the 31st Lord of the Manor

Lord of the Manor

The Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...

 of Mitford in 1895 (following the death of his brother Colonel John Philip Osbaldeston Mitford) and died at Mitford Hall

Mitford Hall

Mitford Hall is a Georgian mansion house and Grade II* listed building standing in its own park overlooking the River Wansbeck at Mitford, Northumberland....

, Northumberland

Northumberland

Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...

, in 1912.

Bertram Mitford was born in Bath in 1855, educated at Hurstpierpoint College

Hurstpierpoint College

Hurstpierpoint College is an independent, co-educational, day and boarding school for pupils aged 4–18, located just to the north of the village of Hurstpierpoint, West Sussex in the lee of the South Downs...

 in Sussex, went to South Africa in 1874, living in Cheltenham

Cheltenham

Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...

 1881, married Zima Helen Gentle, daughter of Alfred Ebden, 9 March 1886, had daughter Yseulte Helen 3 June 1887, living in London 1891, and died in Cowfold

Cowfold

Cowfold is a village and civil parish between Billingshurst and Haywards Heath in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England, located at the intersection of the A272 and A281 roads. The parish has a land area of 1926 hectares . In the 2001 census 1,864 people lived in 729 households, of...

, Sussex of liver disease

Liver disease

Liver disease is a broad term describing any single number of diseases affecting the liver.-Diseases:* Hepatitis, inflammation of the liver, caused mainly by various viruses but also by some poisons , autoimmunity or hereditary conditions...

in 1914.

Partial bibliography

• Our arms in Zululand - 1881 - poems
• Through the Zululand - 1883 - non fiction
• The Fire Trumpet - Blackett 1889
• The Weird of Deadly Hollow - Sutton 1891
• Golden Face - Trischler - 1892
• Tween Snow and Fire- Heinemann - Cassell 1892
• The Curses of Clement Waynflete - Ward 1894
• The King's Assegai - Chatto -1894
• The Luck of Gerard Ridgeley - Chatto 1894
• Renshaw Fanning's Quest - Chatto 1894
• The White Shield - Cassell 1895
• A Veldt Official - Ward 1895
• The Sign of the Spider - Methuen 1896
• The Expiation of Wynne Palliser - Ward 1896
• Fordham's Feud - Ward 1897
• The Induna's Wife - White 1898
• The Ruby Sword - White 1899
• The Gun-Runner - Chatto 1899
• Aletta - White 1900
• John Ames, Native Commissioner - White 1900
• The Triumph of Hilary Blachland - Chatto 1901
• The Word of the Sorceress - Hutchinson 1902
• A Veldt Vendetta - Ward 1903
• Dorrien of Cranston - Hurst 1903
• Forging the Blades - Nash 1903
• Haviland's Chum - Chatto 1903
• In the Whirl of the Rising - Methuen 1904
• The Red Derelict - Methuen 1904
• The Sirdar's Oath - White 1904
• A Frontier Mystery - White 1905
• A Secret of the Lebombo - Hurst 1905
• Harley Greenoak's Charge - Chatto 1906
• The White Hand and the Black - Long 1907
• A Legacy of the Granite Hills - Long 1909
• A Border Scourge - Long 1910
• A Duel Resurrection - Ward 1910
• Ravenshaw of Rietholme - Ward 1910
• The Heath Hover Mystery - Ward 1911
• The River of Unrest - Ward 1912
• Seaford's snake - Ward 1912
• Selmin of Selmingfold - Ward 1912
• Averno - Ward 1913
• An Island of Eden - Ward 1913

External links