After reading this interesting historical fiction novel I have a better idea of why the Boer War was fought in South Africa between imperialist England and the entrenched Dutch Boers who were fighting for their land and way of life. The fact that gold and diamonds had been discovered had a lot to do with England deciding to interfere.

Harvey tells the story of the war and its effects from both sides but mainly through the eyes of Matthew Paget, that wild & uncontrollable English youth, his sister Frances who yearns for self sufficiency and freedom, and their cousin Will Marriott, a young man who believes in England's manifest destiny because he believes England is the embodiment of beneficent rule and good judgment.

Harvey also tells the story of the Boers, their love for the land, their tough, uncompromising attitudes but also their bravery and steadfastness. Neither side treats the native Africans with anything but contempt. The man who turns out to be instrumental in the lives of both Matthew and Will is the crass and unprincipled half caste South African Hendon Bashford who doesn't care what it takes to earn money and power or who he must trample on to get it.

The description of the battles and how strategies on both sides were so different was engrossing but also appalling for the ineptitude of the English commanders leading to an incredible loss of life. ( )

The Steps of the Sun is quite a page turner up until the end of Part Three (the end of the Boer War). Once the war is over, the book languishes on its way to wrapping up all the different threads of the story. The novel looks at both sides of the Boer War from the point of view of a variety of family members who happen to be on both sides of the war. Trollope's witty prose makes for a fast read but she includes enough interesting details to make the history come to life and to flesh out her characters. There are times though that she bounces so quickly from character to character and location to location to make the transistions confusing. ( )