Review -- The Hunter's Wife by Katherine Scholes

Latest Novel From Popular African/Australian Women’s Fiction Author

Apr 8, 2009

The hostess of a safari lodge in Tanzania in 1968 finds herself caught between her duty to her husband and her attraction to an actor filming on location at her home.

Exploring themes of integrity, honesty, loyalty and duty, The Hunter’s Wife (Penguin Australia, 2009) by Katherine Scholes is a story of passion, love, adventure and broken dreams with a backdrop of the compelling East African landscape and the contrived world of a movie set on location.

The Hunter’s Wife

Mara and her husband John had wonderful plans when they married after a brief courtship. Disillusioned with his career as a big game hunter, John dreamed of turning his home, an inherited hunting lodge, into a base for more humane safaris to simply observe the local wildlife.

Three years on, John and Mara’s dreams of turning Raynor Lodge into a successful safari destination have not eventuated and the resulting financial and emotional strain is causing a rift between them.

When Mara is unexpectedly approached by a producer interested in using the Lodge as a film location, it seems that their fortunes are about to improve. Unfortunately, John accepts a contract to act as a safari guide elsewhere and Mara is left to manage the movie stars and film crew alone with the Lodge staff.

Determined to do what she must to ensure the success of the filming, Mara finds herself unexpectedly attracted to Peter, the leading man, and questions her loyalty and priorities as she works hard to remain true to her husband and his dream for the Lodge.

East Africa in the 1960s

Mara is a likeable character that readers will quickly warm to. Her determination is balanced by vulnerability throughout the novel, ensuring that she never becomes intimidating as she deals with the challenges she faces both personally and with the logistics of organising Raynor Lodge for the film crew.

As Mara’s attraction to Peter grows, readers gradually learn more about Mara and John’s struggling relationship. Mara and Peter’s emotional turmoil and the demands of the movie schedule, cast members and crew create a very realistic dynamic of conflicting loyalties and responsibilities despite the exotic location and the link to Hollywood glamour through the filming of the motion picture.

The animal protection (or lack thereof) and racial issues in Tanzania in the late 1960s offer some interesting contrast to the lighter relationship themes of the novel. Mara has a particular emotional connection with the elephant herds which provides an ongoing theme throughout the novel.

Interactions between Mara, local villagers employed at the Lodge and Somali labourers travelling with the film crew, government officials and various white East African residents highlight the very complex social hierarchy that existed not only between white and black, but also within social groups and communities.

Katherine Scholes

An internationally best-selling and prize winning author, Katherine Scholes was born in Tanzania, East Africa. She spent her childhood in Africa before moving to England and then Australia with her family. She now lives in Tasmania with her husband and two sons.

Scholes’ previous titles include the bestselling novels Make Me an Idol, The Rain Queen and The Stone Angel and several children’s books including Peacetimes and The Boy and the Whale. Her youth novel The Blue Chameleon received a NSW State Literary Award.

More than a Simple Love Story

Given that The Hunter’s Wife is such a multi-layered novel, it is disappointing that the ending ties things together so neatly. Apart from this minor frustration, this novel offers enjoyable entertainment with the beautifully portrayed Tanzanian setting, a cast of interesting personalities as secondary characters and thoughtful themes highlighting cultural issues in addition to the more emotional preoccupations.

With moments of humour, a rich cultural setting and significant personal development in the central character of Mara, The Hunter’s Wife is sure to further cement Scholes’ reputation as a significant and accomplished writer in the genre of women’s fiction.

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