'Jackson is a gifted storyteller... [he] elegantly weaves Wickham's tribulations into the broader context of the empire' - Sunday Times. 'The dark story of the fascinating, nearly forgotten Henry Wickham, a tragic adventurer who could have come straight from the pages of Joseph Conrad... a fabulous story' - Los Angeles Times Book Review. 'Wickham had a colourful life, and Jackson tells it very well... an evocative narrative underpinned with sound scholarship' - Independent. 'Finely researched and unexpectedly absorbing... [Jackson's] enthusiasm for his unlikely subject proves infectious' - Telegraph. 'Illuminating and shocking' - New Scientist. 'Joe Jackson's strong investigative and story-telling skills conjure up the colour and characters of Wickham's meandering path through the British colonies and beyond' - Nature.

Joe Jackson is the author of one novel and four works of non-fiction, including "Leavenworth Train", a finalist for the 2002 Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime. He was an investigative reporter for the Virginian Pilot. He lives in Virginia with his wife and son.