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    Leopard at the Door
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    Leopard at the Door
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    Leopard at the Door
    Audiobook12 hours

    Leopard at the Door

    Written by Jennifer McVeigh

    Narrated by Katharine McEwan

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Set in Kenya in the 1950s against the fading backdrop of the British Empire, a story of self-discovery, betrayal, and an impossible love from the author of The Fever Tree.
     
    After six years in England, Rachel has returned to Kenya and the farm where she spent her childhood, but the beloved home she'd longed for is much changed. Her father's new companion-a strange, intolerant woman-has taken over the household. The political climate in the country grows more unsettled by the day and is approaching the boiling point. And looming over them all is the threat of the Mau Mau, a secret society intent on uniting the native Kenyans and overthrowing the whites.

    As Rachel struggles to find her place in her home and her country, she initiates a covert relationship, one that will demand from her a gross act of betrayal. One man knows her secret, and he has made it clear how she can buy his silence. But she knows something of her own, something she has never told anyone. And her knowledge brings her power.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateJan 3, 2017
    ISBN9781524703516
    Unavailable
    Leopard at the Door
    Author

    Jennifer McVeigh

    Jennifer McVeigh graduated from Oxford University in 2002 with a First in English literature. She went on to work in film, television, radio, and publishing, before giving up her day job to write fiction.

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    Reviews for Leopard at the Door

    4/5

    37 ratings9 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Compelling story about life in Kenya after World War II when the native people were beginning their fight for independence. After being sent to England for school, Rachel returns to Kenya to find the world she knew changing. Her father’s new companion is rigid and intolerant of the natives working for them. Used to exploring with her mother and visiting the small villages of the natives to teach, provide clothing and health care, Rachel struggles with her stepmother’s point of view. She had been tutored by an educated black man, who returned to the Kenyan farm after serving in the military during World War II. Within in the main characters, the author has done a good job showing the attitudes of the British colonials and the native citizens who have no rights. Well done storytelling give the reader a feel for why and how the British Empire fell in Africa.
    • 4/5
      This is a nice addition to the canon of historical fiction written about the British colonial period. Set in Kenya's Highlands at the beginning of the Mau Mau Rebellion of the 1950s, the story begins as Rachel is returning to her childhood home after years in England. Warned by her father to not return, Rachel finds her place on the farm to be uncertain as she adjusts to her widowed father's new companion and to the increasing oppression of the Kikuyu people. McVeigh makes excellent use of the farm's isolated location to ratchet up the tension as violence draws closer to the farm. Ultimately, Rachel must decide where her loyalty lies as the British settlers and military take extreme measures to eliminate any threats to the Empire.
    • 3/5
      Someone gave me this galley because of my interest in Kenya. Looking at the cover and blurb, I took it for a historical romance with Kenya's Mau Mau period as background and expected not to like it much. I was pleasantly surprised. McVeigh has taken the time to do careful research as her detailed descriptions and historical accuracy clearly show. Furthermore, the story of Rachel Fullsmith, who returns to Kenya at 18 after six years at school in England to find her father has remarried after her mother's tragic death and the idyllic farm she dreamed of returning to is rife with tension, both from the jealous and controlling behavior of her stepmother towards everyone, including her own son, Harold, and from the fear and confusion caused by Kenya's Mau Mau resistance movement. Rachel finds the clear loyalties what appeared to her as a child as peaceful coexistence between her family and their laborers either never really existed at all or has been destroyed. The treatment of the subject is nuanced and careful. A good read.
    • 5/5
      Can you really come back home? Is it always the same or always changed?Rachel was returning to her childhood home after being in England for six years and living with her maternal grandparents for schooling after her mother had passed away.Rachel always loved her home in Africa, but coming back didn't seem like the right choice after she met her father's live-in companion, Sara, and with all the upheaval and Mau Mau Rebellion. Sara was not like her sweet, caring mother, and Rachel didn't agree with her father's plan to move all the people who lived and worked on their land to reserves.We follow Rachel as she fights with her own thoughts about what is right and what is wrong since she returned.Ms. McVeigh's exquisite, vivid descriptions of the land and its people of Africa draw you into the book as you are mesmerized by the lifestyle and landscape. Her research is marvelous. The historical aspect was frightening and quite tense as the book neared its ending. The personal life of Rachel took a turn at the end making me think about how life really does change and wondering if life is ever the same after circumstances fill one's life.LEOPARD AT THE DOOR is a story of love, secrets, and believing in your decisions and standing by them. Rachel has a secret that she has kept since her childhood and worries what will happen to her and the person the secret is about if the secret is found out.LEOPARD AT THE DOOR is a powerful, beautifully crafted book that will stay with you and have you looking up facts about the Mau Mau Rebellion. LEOPARD AT THE DOOR is recommended for anyone who enjoys a book that pulls at your heart strings, teaches you history, has extraordinary detail, and loves a writing style that is thoroughly absorbing and impeccable. 5/5This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.
    • 4/5
      A bit melodramatic at times, I still enjoyed this story set in Kenya during the time of the Mau Mau Rebellion. Rachel was born in Kenya to British parents, but when her mother died when Rachel was twelve, she is sent to England to live with her grandparents. Now, six years later, she is returning "home", but Kenya is a very different place than when she left. Living on a remote farm, Rachel's father, Robert, now lives with a woman, Sara, who has a sixteen year old son, Harold. Sara hates the remoteness of the farm and distrusts the African natives, even those that have served in the house for many years.Michael, a native Kenyan who was educated and served in the British army during the war, is now serving as a mechanic on the farm. Sara especially distrusts him. A secret society of natives, the Mau Mau, is causing terror in the countryside as it aims to destroy the British. Michael's brother is involved with this group.The story becomes a bit melodramatic as Rachel is threatened by a district law official and a friend of Sara's. Steven represents the worst of the British force. As the threat of the Mau Mau becomes closer, tensions rise in the household. Harold is killed which causes Sara to become even more cold and distrustful and Robert, Rachel's father, seems to be in her spell. A violent attack and fire eventually ruin the farm during which time Rachel is saved by Michael whom she has been having a relationship with. A time in a Kenyan mental hospital but an eventual release to a neighbor ends the story with Rachel pregnant with Michael's child. She eventually returns to England and has his son.I especially enjoyed the first of the book, but the transformation of Rachel from a naive young woman to someone having a sexual relationship with a much older native, her exploits and tensions with Sara seem a stretch. Still, a good read.
    • 3/5
      An ambitious story of a young girl's return to her childhood home set against the struggles against colonialism in post-WWII Kenya, "Leopard" succeeds better in tracing the Mau Mau Revolution than as a coming-of-age tale. Rachel's issues of returning to a home rendered different by both personal and political issues are easy to relate to, but unfortunately the other characters she's surrounded by--the memory of a perfect mother, a suddenly disinterested father, a selfish and evil stepmother, a forbidden (and somewhat awkward) love interest--are cliche and take away from the interesting setting and premise. I loved the history and the notion of moral awakening as regards colonialism in adolescents challenging the status quo, and that makes this a novel enough read to recommend it. But other books such as "The Poisonwood Bible" have done this better.
    • 5/5
      A beautiful but tragic story set in the 1950s about a young woman who returns to her home in Kenya and realizes everything has changed in her absence. After the death of her mother, Rachel is sent to live in England with her grandparents while her father remains in Kenya on their family's farm. Upon returning, not only have things changed on the farm but also throughout the country as the Mau Mau attempt to overthrow the white settlers. This is a story of a young woman discovering how to stay true to her belief system even when it might be in conflict with those she loves. Prior to reading this book, I knew very little about the conflict in Kenya in the 1950s but this book made me more interested in the topic. The sign of a good historical novel for me is when after completing the book I am eager in finding out more about the events it was based on. And because the author gave such beautiful descriptions of the country, it makes me want to visit Kenya as well. Initially, I was unsure whether this book could sustain my interest. Thankfully, I found this to be a real gem of a book and I would definitely recommend to anyone that is looking to maybe branch out of their reading comfort zone and try something a bit different. The author conveys thoughts and emotions in such a realistic way and I am looking forward to checking out her previous novel.I received an ARC of this book and this review contains my fair and honest opinions.
    • 5/5
      When Rachel Fullsmith loses her mother at the age of 12, she also basically loses her father and her home in Kenya due to her father sending her to boarding school in England. When she returns to Kenya 6 years later, she finds that very little remains the same. Not only is another woman living with her father, but there is political upheaval taking place. The Mau Mau Rebellion was a real-life uprising that took place in Kenya in the 1950’s. The Kikuyu community has been split apart, some remaining loyal to the British in Kenya and others violently rebelling. The violence is even directed at those Kikuyu who refuse to take the Mau Mau oath and who just want to live peacefully. Rachel longs to help the Kikuyu but Michael, a Kikuyu who was her teacher when she was little, doesn’t always agree with her methods. Rachel also has a memory of an incident that occurred when she was a child that she has always kept secret. Will that memory be as much of a danger to her as the Mau Mau? Or will her forbidden love be the most dangerous of all?This is a wonderful book packed with emotions. The main character, Rachel, sometimes seem to be unbelievably naïve but she is very young and has lived a protected life. I’m not sure of the age difference between her and her love interest but his previous role in her life when she was a child caused me to cringe a bit when they become involved. But regardless of those small faults, I was pulled completely into this engrossing story. Parts of it read like “Out of Africa” with the beauty and originality of Africa shining through the struggle between the Africans and Europeans to live together in peace. Ms. McVeigh writes in a similar lyrical manner. She does a great job in conveying the reasons for the rebellion and the division among the Kikuyu. The story is a very suspenseful, dramatic one. Highly recommended. This book was given to me by the publisher in return for an honest review.
    • 5/5
      Leopard at the Door, Jennifer McVeigh, author, Katharine McEwan, narratorWhen Rachel Fullsmith was 12 years old, she stayed at home at Kisima, the family farm in Kenya, while her parents went for a visit to England. When a telegram was delivered for her uncle, she ran to find him at his slaughterhouse, although she had been warned not to go there because the African workers were on strike, and it was not safe for her. Once there, she witnessed the brutal murder of a striker, by a British officer, while she was hidden out of sight. When she thought she was able to escape unseen, she ran headlong into Michael, an educated African who had been her teacher. She wondered, what was he doing there at her uncle’s place of business? He asked her if she was going to reveal that he had been present, and she told him that she would not. She didn’t have time to consider his presence or her decision because she soon learned that her mother had died in an accident, and she traveled to England to live under the care of her distant grandparents while she attended boarding school. Essentially, Rachel lost both of her parents at the same time, though her father still lived. The year was 1946. Rachel did not see her father at all, for the next six years, until she returned home to Kenya in 1952, at age 18, against his advice. He did not think she could be happy there any longer. At home, she soon discovered that Kenya had changed and so had her father, although at first sight, on the surface, everything seemed the same. Almost immediately she learned just how different things really were. Her father was living with another woman, Sara, who seemed to rule him with her feminine wiles. She had a son Harold who now lived in Rachel’s former room. She was now assigned to a guest room on the isolated side of the house. She did not like the dark or the sound of the leopards at night, and being alone was not to her liking, but she decided to make the best of it. She really had little choice.Sara was very different from Rachel’s mother. She had taken an interest in, and truly cared about helping the Kikuyu, the Africans who worked on the farm in exchange for being able to live there. She had made sure they had shelter, proper clothing and food and even took care of their medical needs. She also helped to educate them. Rachel grew up under the guidance of this considerate woman who loved the farm and was very down to earth. Sara, on the other hand, was an elitist who believed that the Africans were beneath her, not educable and certainly not to be treated as equals. She believed that giving them too much power would be dangerous for the barbarians. This was the typical attitude of the English who lived there and were waited on, hand and foot, by the Africans who were their servants. Sara, like the British officer, Stephen Lockhart, was pompous and haughty, believing in the right to abuse those weaker than they. They used their power to intimidate the Africans which is how they thought it was best to control them and keep them obedient and subservient. Rachel realized that many of the loyal Kikuyu Africans who had worked for her parents were no longer there, and those that were had new rules to follow. They were generally not allowed freedom of movement in the house, their reading materials were removed since Sara believed it would spoil them and give them ideas which would lead to instability and danger, and their needs were neglected by her father. She was confused and uncertain about whether living on the farm was truly the right choice for her future. Yet, she had no place else to go.Elated to find that her dog Juno was still there, she continued to find solace in familiarity. Jim, her mother’s cook was there and her teacher, Michael was as well, although now, he was her father’s mechanic. They made her feel a bit more welcome, but they were far less comfortable than she was. They were aware of their position as servants. Jim was not allowed to cook in the house. Juno was living in the stable and Sara had confiscated the reading materials of the Africans. It wasn’t long before she and Michael developed a very close and forbidden relationship. Was Rachel’s behavior reckless in such an environment? Unrest was growing in Africa. The Africans resented the injustice, the lack of wage parity and their substandard conditions. Africa was their land, but the British had laid claim to it. Blacks and whites, Kenyans and British, were treated to far different lifestyles. The Mau Mau uprising began with ceremonies demanding fealty, and they were followed by brutal and cold blooded murders of white farmers, often by their own African workers who had been turned into their enemies by the Mau Maus. Those Africans who refused to follow the Mau Mau were also violently murdered. The story that develops relies heavily upon the brutal history that led to the independence of Kenya, but it also skillfully introduces social issues that were prevalent during that time: bigotry and injustice, forbidden interracial relationships, elitism, brutality, and the collusion that existed among complicit parties to promote and sustain their privileged lives. They colluded with each other to protect themselves and their own interests. Often, those Europeans who didn’t conform were considered mentally ill and could be consigned to institutions where they were forced to submit to unwanted treatment by “the best” doctors. The story follows Rachel for about a decade, but it focuses mainly on the period of 1952 and the terrifying period of the Mau Mau Revolution. Adroitly, the author shows the helplessness of the Kikuyu as she contrasts their lot with Rachel’s. Both are affected differently by the demands of the times, but both lack the power to fight back against the ruling authority without some outside support. When the final page is turned, will Rachel find some sense of justice after all of the injustice she has witnessed and withstood? How this plays out is often tragic, but it is also somewhat hopeful and uplifting in the end. The author has managed to humanize a bleak period of history. After doing some research, l learned that the British were eventually penalized for their discrimination and cruelty to the Africans. In 2013, it was decided that there would be compensation paid to those who suffered unjustly at the hands of the British during the uprising. The book focuses on issues of loyalty, secrets, control, prejudice, and injustice. Using a romantic interlude, which at first put me off, the author illuminated the idea that we are one people regardless of color or status; that love does not deal with or depend on artificial boundaries, that love and respect for each other can overcome many obstacles.The narrator does an excellent job of bringing the characters to life. Rachel feels authentic, although in the story, she seems implausibly naïve, at times. The author’s writing style places the reader, not as an observer, but as a participant in the story. The African landscape, the fear of violence, the discrimination and the cruelty meted out by those in power and those rebelling against that unjust power, all occupy the same space. Horror and beauty lie beside each other in Africa, even today, as exhibited by the behavior of the Boko Haram extremists, Islamic terrorists who continue to conduct an insurgency against the Nigerian government and to conduct heinous acts against the population.