The African Queen

Central Africa, 1914; Rose Sayer, a thirty-three year-old English woman, is left alone when her missionary brother dies. Her only route out is aboard The African Queen, a steam-powered launch captained by Cockney mechanic, Charlie Alnutt. Determined to do her bit for the war effort and to avenge her brother, Rose persuades Charlie that they should attack the German gunboat, the Königin Luise. And so begins a most unlikely alliance and love affair, as Charlie and Rose venture down the treacherous Ulanga river encountering danger and adventure at every turn.

This beautiful Macmillan Collector’s Library edition of The African Queen by C. S. Forester features an introduction by the award-winning author and journalist, Giles Foden.

Designed to appeal to the booklover, the Macmillan Collector’s Library is a series of beautiful gift editions of much loved classic titles. Macmillan Collector’s Library are books to love and treasure.

Author Biography

C. S. Forester was born in Cairo but moved to London with his mother where he was educated at Alleyn’s School and Dulwich College. He began to study medicine at Guy’s Hospital, London, but left without completing his degree and established himself as a professional writer in the early 1920s. Rejected by the army, he moved to America during the Second World War and wrote propaganda for the British Information Service. He eventually settled in California and died in 1966. Forester is best known for his twelve-book Horatio Hornblower series, set during the Napoleonic wars, and for The African Queen (1935), which was made famous by the film of the same name, starring Humphrey Bogart and Catherine Hepburn.