Lost Lion of Empire: The Life of 'Cape-to-Cairo' Grogan

Ewart Grogan, 'the baddest and boldest of a bad bold gang' of settlers in Kenya, was one of the most brilliant and controversial figures of African colonial history.

When he proposed to a young heiress, Gertrude Coleman, he needed to prove himself a ‘somebody’ to her father in order to win her hand. He did so in inimitable style, announcing that he intended to accomplish the first south-to-north traverse of Africa. In 1900, ...