If you want to know more about West Africa but don’t like non-fiction books, here’s an historical novel for you. Set in 1900 West Africa, it’s the first of a projected series of five books that takes the reader through the twentieth century with an African family.

Ashanti Saga: The Fort is a story about Kofi, a 17-year-old member of the Ashanti tribe in what is now central Ghana. In 1900, when the story takes place, it is part of the British colonial system.

Kofi goes to hear the British governor, who is visiting from the coast to give a speech. In it the governor tells the Africans they will have to pay certain fees, that their kidnapped chief will not be returned to them, and he demands to sit on the Golden Stool. These and other pronouncements infuriate the Ashantis, and they go to war.

Kofi, who does not believe in violence, is caught up in the war with many misgivings. He is very fond of Trudi, a school friend and the daughter of one of the missionaries, and doesn’t want her to suffer.

The Africans besiege the Kumasi fort in which the governor, his wife, son and British soldiers are residing and in which Swiss missionaries and their families have taken shelter. In the fort, Trudi befriends Paul, the son of the governor, and the young man also is attracted to the self-centered girl.

The siege continues for more than two months, after which most of the Europeans escape. Before they part, Trudi promises to wait for Paul to finish his university studies.

Kofi has become intensely anti-European, and vows to spend his life as a freedom fighter.

Most of the events and characters, with the exception of Kofi, Trudi and Paul, are historical. I was fortunate in that the British governor’s wife published a book in which she described life in the fort during the siege, so I have not only historians’ accounts of the Ashantis’ conduct of the war, but an insider’s view of the besieged.

Ashanti Saga: The Fort is a Young Adult book, but adults of all ages enjoy reading it. It is available at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.

The book sells for $9.95, paperback retail. The ISBN number is 978-0-595-43532-6.