In the heart of 19th-century Zululand, one man stood at the crossroads of empire and kingdom.
John Dunn lived at the crossroads of empire, alliance, and survival — both trusted and betrayed by kings and governments alike.
His life still echoes across South African history.
John Dunn, the orphaned son of British settlers, rose from obscurity to become a trusted advisor to King Cetshwayo, a man fluent not only in Zulu language and custom, but in the delicate art of survival between colliding worlds.
He hunted with English aristocrats, dined with colonial officers, and held the confidence of a Zulu king. His loyalties were tested, his decisions scrutinised. When war came, he was forced to choose — and the consequences shaped the fate of a nation.
The Crown, the Chief and the King
The Untold Story of Colonial Intrigue in Zululand
Is an immersive and character-rich biography traces Dunn’s extraordinary life with the depth of a novel and the rigour of historical truth. Drawing on eyewitness accounts, colonial records and personal testimony, it paints a vivid portrait of a man whose influence was vast — and whose legacy remains controversial.
Dunn was many things: a diplomat, a warrior, a trader, a father, and a builder of communities. This is his story — the story of a frontier where no allegiance was ever simple, and where one man refused to belong to only one world.
