"Absorbing and haunting, this beautifully-written novel tells the affecting stories of three women during the final months of war in Rhodesia, before it became Zimbabwe."
Kay Powell’s Then a Wind Blew is at once atmospheric, lyrical, poignant and enlightening, made all the more engaging by the distinct and captivating voices of the three woman whose lives and experiences it lays bare, during the final months of brutal war in Rhodesia, ahead of it becoming Zimbabwe. Throughout, personal details and circumstances are finely enmeshed with historic and political contexts, with the gripping, smoothly-paced story suffused in the author’s clear love for the country.
The three women we meet in these pages could hardly be more different, yet the war entwines their lives, and through them we encounter a rich, rounded range of experiences. White Rhodesian settler Susan has lost a son in the war, while Beth is a missionary nun on an African Reserve. Then there’s Nyanye, a freedom fighter who’s fled to a guerrilla camp in Mozambique in the wake of her village being destroyed.
Offering lesser-seen insights into women’s direct experiences of war, this book is both deeply personal and universal, showing - ultimately - how we are linked by common bonds in the most horrific, divisive of circumstances.
If you read and enjoy this, you’d do well to check out other works published by Weaver Press, an independent Zimbabwean publisher that works closely with NGOs in the fields of arts, culture, development and human rights.
Then a Wind Blew is set in the final months of the war in Rhodesia, before it became Zimbabwe, and the story unfolds through the voices of three women. Susan Haig, a white settler, has lost one son in the war and seen her other son declared 'unfit for duty'. Nyanye Maseka has fled with her sister to a guerrilla camp in Mozambique, her home village destroyed, her mother missing.
| Primary Genre | Historical Fiction |
| Other Genres: |
Tell Us What Rosie Goodwin’s Books Mean to You and Win a Signed Book Bundle
Closing date: 31/10/2026
Then a Wind Blew is set in the final months of the war in Rhodesia, before it became Zimbabwe, and the story unfolds through the voices of three women. Susan Haig, a white settler, has lost one son in the war and seen her other son declared 'unfit for duty'.
Then a Wind Blew features in the following genres: Historical Fiction, General Fiction, Modern and Contemporary Fiction, Fiction, Narrative theme: Politics, Violence, intolerance and persecution in history, Fiction: narrative themes, History: specific events and topics, History, History and Archaeology
Paperback, Ebook. £16.17. Digital. Available Immediately. Country restrictions apply..
Then a Wind Blew was written by Kay Powell and published by Weaver Press
£16.17. Digital. Available Immediately. Country restrictions apply..
