Olive the Lionheart

The incredible true story of a young Scottish aristocrat who traveled to Africa to find her missing fiancé in 1910.
"The perfect summer adventure book." —Town & Country
"Olive the Lionheart has it all—secret chambers, lost love, and the dwelling place of a devil. Ricca mines emotions and real fears in this incredible true story." —Brad Meltzer, bestselling author of The First Conspiracy
The Christian Science Monitor "10 Best Books of August" Pick

In 1910, a strong-willed, free-spirited aristocrat named Olive MacLeod was engaged to be married to Boyd Alexander, one of the most famed naturalists of his time. When Boyd's work leads him all the way to Africa—and he goes missing—Olive decides to take matters into her own hands and travel to find him. She must unravel the truth about what really happen to Boyd—even if that means confronting a shocking secret about herself.


Drawing upon Olive's own diary entries and personal correspondence, as well as the history and headlines from the era, this page-turning account brings the thrill, danger, and romance of Olive's 2,700-mile journey—which no Western woman had ever before undertaken—alive to the page. A testament to the power of love and the pursuit of passions at all costs, Olive the Lionheart is a portrait of a fearless woman that no reader will soon forget.

"Olive MacLeod is my favorite sort of woman from history—bold and unconventional, utterly unsinkable—and her story is so full of adventure and acts of courage, it's hard to believe she actually lived. . . . Brad Ricca has found a heroine for the ages and written her a tale with a winning combination of accuracy and imagination." —Paula McLain, author of Love and Ruin and The Paris Wife