I would like to thank the many people who have contributed to The Rain Queen.
Firstly, my parents, Robin and Elizabeth Smith, for giving me the gift of an African childhood and an ongoing legacy of stories shared around the dinner table. During the writing of The Rain Queen I consulted with them on matters ranging from Tanzanian history and bush medicine, to theology and the Swahili language. I am very grateful for their involvement without which the book could not have been written.
The rest of my family, and also my good friends and neighbours, whose interest and support have been fuel for the journey: in particular, my sister, Clare Visagie, who has assisted me in so many ways – not least, by reading several drafts of the manuscript.
The numerous people who kindly shared with me accounts of their experiences in Africa, in some cases allowing me the privilege of reading personal letters, diaries and journals.
Gaby Naher, who believed in the work from an early stage; my agent Fiona Inglis, and Cate Paterson and Anna McFarlane of Pan Macmillan Australia, who have been a vital source of advice and encouragement.
The Ball family, who share my African roots; and especially Phyllis Bayldon who reached the end of her long life before the manuscript was finished. She was an inspiration to me – a constant reminder that the old woman standing before you may once have hunted crocodiles …
My boys, Jonathan and Linden, who so often had to share their mother with an unseen cast of distracting strangers. Their presence is a reminder of the preciousness of life – the reason to tell stories.
Lastly – but mostly – Roger Scholes. The Rain Queen is another chapter in our life of shared stories. I am deeply thankful for his editorial advice – always insightful, generous, yet unrelenting – and his steadfast insistence that I follow the story to its true heart. Much of it belongs to him.