Tony Maxwell was born and educated in South Africa. He travelled widely in Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Central America, Australia and Canada. He lives in Alberta, Canada. When he and his son, Brad, discovered the Alberta connection with Strathcona's Horse, they decided to make a documentary film about the regiment. Strathcona's Horse was a Canadian mounted regiment raised and equipped by Lord Strathcona in 1900 and sent off to fight in the Anglo-Boer War. Tony returned to South Africa after 40-year absence to make the documentary. Travelling with Brad, they searched for old battlefields and graveyards, discovering the intersecting history of South Africa and Canada. The documentary, The Queen's Cowboys (as the Strathcona's were sometimes known), inspired Tony's first book, Searching for the Queen's Cowboys, which tells the story of their experiences in the new South Africa while making the documentary. The book blends three stories - the travelogue, a look at the past and present political situation in South Africa, and tracing the Strathcona's Horse during the War. It also has tales of Tony's adventures as a younger man in South Africa and London. There is also a section on the Zulu War, inspired by Tony's visits to the battlefields.Tony is currently working on an historical novel, Uitlander (Foreigner), which tells the story of a young Canadian who fought on the side of the Boers during the Anglo-Boer War. It is the year 1890 in Calgary, Alberta and 18-year-old Robert Hamilton, while protecting his mother from a brutal assault by his drunken stepfather, is charged with murder. Exonerated by the court, he is forced to flee to England to escape the murderous wrath of his stepfather's brothers. He seeks refuge in London with his mother's beautiful, younger sister Emma, who is married to the elderly Sir Reginald Lolandish, a wealthy, international arms dealer. His passionate love affair with Emma is behind his spur-of-the-moment decision to go to South Africa to seek his fortune in the Witwatersrand goldfields. His business interests in the Transvaal Republic bring him into close contact with the Boers. His sympathy with their cause finds him at odds with fellow Canadians who answer the call of the mother country to fight in the Anglo-Boer War.
