The Langbourne Series

It is 1891 when Morris and David, both young teenagers, arrive in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. With neither family nor friends, they decide to try their hands in the cigarette business, the only thing they know. They befriend Nguni, a large and well-muscled man of the Xhosa tribe, who leads them into the African bush to find a tobacco farming community and offers protection from the dangers of wild animals that they never even knew existed. With the solid grounding their parents instilled in them during their upbringing, the boys learn to adapt and accept Africa's ways.

The remarkable story of the Langbourne brothers is picked up in 1893. Morris, just 17, makes the bold and risky decision to head north, deeper into Africa. Morris and his younger brother, David, thus embark on a new adventure - to set up business as traders. After walking through the African bush for three months with six wagons laden with goods and hardly a track to guide them, Morris and David stop in the settlement of KoBulawayo and build their first warehouse out of wooden poles and mud.

It is 1894 in the remote settlement of Bulawayo, in what later became Southern Rhodesia. Recent immigrants from Ireland, Morris and David Langbourne throw body and soul into rebuilding their previously devastated business. Between Morris' brilliant business acumen and David's almost limitless energy, their future looks very promising as they take massive financial and logistical risks and look forward to a booming business in the backwoods of beyond.

It is 1898 in Bulawayo, Rhodesia, and the Langbourne brothers’ business is maturing, and so are the boys. Morris decides the time is right for them to expand the business into Europe, and he leaves his younger siblings to grow the African operation while he returns to his homeland in Ireland. But Africa works in her mysterious ways; good plans are always put to the test, and this is no exception for the Langbourne brothers.

A new century, and a time of celebration, for family, marriages and children, and a necessity to expand the business. It is also a time for sadness, suffering and loss; Mother Africa does not change her rules for anyone. When all is against the Langbourne brothers, a higher loyalty must prevail.

David, a much older man now, sits on his verandah with his old friend, Nguni, as they reminisce on the good old days. Not having seen each other in almost 50 years, there is much news to tell, many stories to laugh at, and some sorrows to reflect on. Based on an untold true story, this book brings the Langbourne family's saga to its conclusion.