In Follow Me to Africa, Penny Haw takes inspiration from an influential woman in history, archaeologist and palaeontologist, Mary Leakey. Leakey worked alongside her husband, Louis, in East Africa from the 1930s-1980s.
She made many important discoveries, including the first fossilised Proconsul skull, an extinct ape that is now believed to be ancestral to humans, and the Zinjanthropus boisei skull at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania.
Haw uses a dual timeline to tell this story. It is set in 1983, when the 70-year-old Mary is leaving Olduvai Gorge. Into this dig comes 17-year-old Grace, a fictional character, with Haw melding fiction and fact. Alongside this story is that of Mary, beginning as a child being introduced to fossil hunting by her father, which becomes a fascination that leads to an illustrious career.
In her early 20s she is introduced to the older and married Louis. She gained experience working on digs in the UK and attending lectures on the subject (though she could not be registered due to her lack of formal schooling), but makes a living as an artist. She is hired to illustrate Leakey’s 1934 book, Adam’s Ancestors. Sparks fly. Lives are upended. The Leakeys married in 1936 and set up home in Africa.
The novel interweaves the early story of the Leakeys with that of Grace, who has been brought on the dig by her father, George, despite Leakey’s misgivings. Grace is still reeling from the recent death of her mother and has been only recently reacquainted with George, and mistrustful of him. She is angry, grieving and insecure. A mutual respect grows between her and Mary, and Mary advises Grace to find something that will ignite her passion so she can find something she wants to do in the world.
It is Lisa, the cheetah, that introduces Grace to this passion. Hand-reared and forced to be released by the authorities, Lisa has a heavy collar around her neck, which hinders her successful hunting. She also lacks experience in hunting and is thin and weak as she approaches the camp. Soon Grace has befriended her, leaving water and meat for the cat to drink. But Lisa has to be rewilded, and Grace has no experience doing so.
The story of Mary runs through the years after she and Louis meet, but is not told in great detail. A portrait of the older Mary emerges in the 1983 scenes as she looks back on her life and packs up. She is also glimpsed through the teenage Grace’s awed view of this famous and remarkable woman. In one scene, she shows her vulnerability as she talks about the daughter who died at just a few months, speaking of an episode that is not mentioned in her actual autobiography.
The novel is laced with research that fits seamlessly into this story that blends fact and fiction. East Africa’s hard and unyielding landscape is brought into sharp focus by Mary’s deep love of it. The story is compulsively readable, with fictional Grace as well drawn as the real-life Mary, and offers a deeply satisfying and fascinating read.
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