With the Lost Legion in New Zealand is a rousing memoir of colonial warfare, frontier hardship, and irreverent adventure, written by Colonel G. Hamilton-Browne in tribute to the irregular soldiers who fought and died in the New Zealand Wars. Determined to correct English ignorance, he tells the story of the "Lost Legion" of colonial troops who endured bush fighting, starvation, disease, and isolation while helping secure the North Island for the Empire. The book follows Richard Burke from a military-minded boyhood through schoolroom duels, failed careers, comic disasters, and a fortune-teller's grim prophecy, before he finally turns toward New Zealand and real combat. Along the way, it offers vivid portraits of camp life, sporting rivalries, and men of talent and eccentricity, including the remarkable runner Bright and the restless entertainer Barney Fisher. The memoir also confronts the rise of the Pai Marire, or Hau Hau, movement, showing how religious fanaticism, tribal politics, and violence helped shape one of the most turbulent chapters in New Zealand history. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.

À propos de l'auteur

Hamilton-Browne, G.

G. Hamilton-Browne was a late nineteenth-century writer and adventurer whose life was shaped by military service, colonial travel, and a keen eye for the rough edges of empire. Best known for vivid accounts drawn from firsthand experience, he wrote with the authority of a man who had seen campaign life, frontier hardship, and the unpredictable realities of settlement and conflict. His work stands out for its energetic storytelling, sharp observation, and unvarnished sense of place, qualities that made him a memorable voice in adventure and travel writing. Across his writing, he explored themes of endurance, comradeship, danger, displacement, and the uneasy meeting of cultures, offering readers both excitement and a revealing glimpse into the world of colonial expansion. Today, his significance lies not only in the immediacy of his narrative style but also in the historical texture his writing preserves, helping modern readers understand how people of his era imagined courage, authority, and the wider world. He remains relevant because his books invite reflection on the costs of adventure and empire as well as the appeal of resilience under pressure. Readers who enjoy brisk, atmospheric historical writing, military reminiscence, and true-life tales of hardship and travel are especially likely to appreciate him.