GEORGE NEWS - A history lesson at York High School more than four decades ago left such a lasting impression on former George resident Grant Poulton that he still credits his teacher, Peter Swart, with inspiring his ambition to write historical fiction.

Poulton, who left York after Standard 8 (Grade 10) and matriculated from PW Botha Technical High School in 1984, has published The Leopard's Bloody Veil: The Forging of the Veldtsman, the first in a four-book historical fiction series spanning more than a century of South African history.

He recalls how a classroom discussion about the word 'velskoen' sparked his fascination with the country's language, history and identity.

"Vel means skin, and a velskoen was an old rawhide shoe, but by then everyone wrote 'veldskoen', as if it meant a shoe for the veld. I couldn't work out which was right, or whether it mattered."

Such seemingly insignificant details stayed with him.

Poulton says Swart inspired him to describe South Africa so vividly that even a stranger who had never experienced its landscape, heat or silence could imagine being there.

For Swart, learning of his former pupil's literary achievement came as a pleasant surprise.

"It's amazing how a chance comment or observation can have such an impact on someone," he said.

Swart encouraged his learners to use history to develop critical thinking skills, something he hopes influenced Poulton's approach to life.

"What a pity he did not finish his schooling at York. His enquiring mind would have added an extra dimension to class discussions."

The Leopard's Bloody Veil: The Forging of the Veldtsman

The story

The novel follows Baltazar Malan, a boy scarred by a leopard attack on the Eastern Cape frontier, whose journey takes him through the De Kaap goldfields, Kimberley's diamond fields and Cape Town between 1827 and 1888.

Although fictional, the story draws on real historical events and family accounts passed down through generations. Poulton's ancestry includes both 1820 Settlers and Cape Dutch families.

Now living in Cape Town, Poulton runs his own IT businesses while pursuing his writing.

The novel is published under his Warden-clyffe Press imprint. Signed copies are available at grantapoulton.com, and the book is also sold through selected bookstores and online retailers, including Takealot and Amazon.

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