Peter Rimmer Books In Order

Publication Order of The African Book Collection Books

Publication Order of Bend with the Wind Books

Publication Order of The Brigandshaw Chronicles Books

Publication Order of Pioneers Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Peter Rimmer is a historical fiction author from South Africa that is best known for the “Brigandshaw Chronicles” series of novels.

The author was born in London in 1937 and spent his childhood in privileged circumstances in the Ashtead suburb of Surrey. His father was a co-owner of a reinsurance company and used to travel all over Europe and North America on business.
During this time Peter’s mother went to the Central School of Drama and Speech and later set up as a consultant helping people with stuttering and similar speech disorders.

Peter and his brother John went to Cranleigh School and the former still remembers being treated as the runt since he was very short. Sadly his father died of cancer when he was eleven and the family had to depend on meager earnings of Peggy to live.

Still, he has many vivid memories of his time in Dorset which is the setting for many of his later novels.

When he graduated from school aged eighteen, Peter Rimmer had to make a decision on what to do with his life. He had to choose between the National Service or following in his father’s footsteps and going into insurance.
Ultimately, he joined the Royal Air Force where he rose to the rank of Pilot Officer. But his poor eyesight prevented him from becoming a pilot and encouraged by the wild tales of Chris Phillips his uncle, he traveled to Rhodesia.
Peter went on to buy a farm in Rhodesia and became a farmer of sheep, cotton, and tobacco. While he loved Africa, Peter soon discovered that he hated farming and moved to Salisbury the capital to work in insurance just like his father.
It was there that he met Rosemary his first wife with whom he had a daughter in 1964. When the marriage failed he moved to South Africa where he founded an insurance brokerage in Johannesburg. He was very successful in business, setting up offices in Hong Kong, Australia, and America but ultimately he retired from the business at 37.

While he would go on to establish several more business ventures including touring and singles clubs, deep down he was always passionate about writing.

Peter Rimmer wrote “Bend with the Wind” his first manuscript during the 1980s but just could not find a publisher. Not one to give up, he continued pushing until Harper Collins In Zimbabwe finally accepted the manuscript.
In 1993, he published “Cry of the Fish Eagle,” which would become a bestselling title and paved the way for him to become a full-time author. When Zimbabwe began to implode during the 2000s Harper Collins left the country but undeterred, Peter began writing the “Brigandshaw Chronicles” that would become his most popular yet.

By the early 2000s, he was done writing “Echoes from the Past,” the debut of the “Brigandshaw Chronicles. “During this time, he spent much of his time on a smallholder farm in Zimbabwe living a peaceful and calm life in nature.
After constantly nagging his daughter to help him publish his novels in ebook format, she finally relented and the rest is history.

After living in Knysna, South Africa for more than a quarter of a century, Peter passed on in 2018 leaving behind a huge lacy of unpublished works that he hoped they would release over the coming years.

“Echoes from the Past” by Peter Rimmer tells the story of two best friends separated by war. The work asks “Will an Africaner and an Englishman be able to make it for themselves and their families in the heart of Africa?”
The work is set in 1887 South Africa where Sebastian Brigandshaw the son of a brutal English sea captain is introduced as a patriotic man who loves Britain and his childhood sweetheart.

But before he could get married, he is banished by his cruel father who sends him and his broken heart to the South African colonies. Lucky for him, he has the goodwill of Tinus an Afrikaner and the beauty of the backcountry motivates him to build a new life despite a looming Boer war.

Ignoring the simmering tensions in the country, Tinus and Sebastian grow closer as they are determined to create a new life for their families. But as open hostilities between the British and the Boers come close, the two friends soon find themselves on opposite sides.

Can Tinus and Seb’s friendship survive a brutal conflict or will they have to fight to the death to protect their countries?

Peter Rimmer’s novel “Elephant Walk” continues with the sweeping “Brigandshaw” saga. After he was done with his university degree at Oxford, Harry Brigandshaw spent the summer in the countryside in Dorset, which is also the home of Robert St. Clair his friend.

While he is there, he meets Robert’s sister Lucinda who falls head over heels for him, even though he does not feel the same way. While they are out shooting, Harry gets a telegram from his father in Africa telling him he needs to return home urgently.

Together Robert and Harry set out for Rhodesia. Soon it is 1914 and England declares war on Germany the war is soon at a fever pitch. Harry’s brother who had enlisted is killed at war and devastated, he decides to enlist so that he can exact vengeance.

He moves up the ranks fast, even as Fishy Braithwaite a former acquaintance is gaining a reputation as an invincible killing machine. With the war raging, Harry has to face several more tragedies as he attempts to keep his family safe and stay alive.

But with danger all over the place, this is going to be a very formidable task.

“Mad Dogs and Englishmen” by Peter Rimmer is set in Post World War I where Harry Brigandshaw had fled from his anger and grief to the Skeleton Coast.
It is several long years before he comes back to Elephant Walk having finally cast aside his sorrow and rage to begin anew. But will he be able to do so? Moreover, there is a letter awaiting his return that might just throw his entire life into turmoil.

“Mad Dogs and Englishmen” is a work that takes its readers to the booming 1920s London where seductive and beautiful women trap the wealthy, where people make cutthroat deals and hedonism play out at the theatre and supper clubs.
Nonetheless, Africa is always calling and beckoning to the Brigandshaw family.