Zan: Birth of a Legend

In 1908, on a mission to find a new breed of gorillas in central Africa, an unfathomable thing is discovered - a wild, white man living amongst a band of great apes. Local villagers call him matokeo ya utafutaji kwa, the untamed one. In England, renowned photographer, Sullivan Vinson, discovers the likely explanation, that the wild man is Sebastian Shaffer who, as a six-year-old, somehow escaped the massacre of Bishop Hannington’s ill-fated party more than twenty years previous. Sullivan and his lovely and spirited niece and ward, Arianna Day, journey to Africa to join the team tracking the man.

Unbeknownst to anyone, the wild man one watches Arianna day and night. Convinced that she is meant for him, he captures her and takes her deep into the jungle to be his mate. Ari is soon rescued, but not before being indelibly changed. Sebastian is placed in the protective custody of anthropologist John Emerson to be retaught language and learn social skills, while Ari returns to England to try and fit into her old life. An advantageous marriage proposal awaits her, but thoughts of Zan haunt her.

Amidst the backdrop of London in the summer of 1908 as the Olympic Games are hosted and the Franko-British Exhibition is held, Zan returns to a city he does not remember with one goal - Arianna. Whey they reunite, their bond is as undeniable as before, but they are kept apart by circumstances, social convention and Marshall Derringer, the man determined to have Arianna as his wife. It seems impossible for love to prevail, but Zan is not the only one with an untamed heart.

’Brilliant, thought provoking and addictive reading.’ -Affaire de Coeur Magazine

Jane Shoup lives in North Carolina. She is the author of the Green Valley Series including Down in the Valley and Spirit of the Valley (Kensington) The Restoration, and the Azulland Chronices including Ammey McKeaf (Diversion) among others. She’s currently working on her next novel. For more information, visit www.janeshoup.com