A Good Man in Africa is the 1981 debut novel by British writer William Boyd. It won both the Whitbread Book Award for a first novel and the Somerset Maugham Award that year.
Contents
Plot
Morgan Leafy is First Secretary to the British Deputy High Commission in Nkongsamba in the fictional West African country of Kinjanja. Leafy is unhappy in his post and struggles with various personal and professional difficulties. He becomes entangled in a range of problematic situations, including an affair with his boss’s daughter, a bribery scheme involving a local politician, and a medical crisis involving a venereal disease.
Leafy is tasked with persuading a local politician, Sam Adekunle, to cooperate with the British High Commission. Meanwhile, he is dealing with his own failing health and a blackmail threat. His superior, Arthur Fanshawe, pressures him to manage sensitive diplomatic issues, but Leafy is ill-equipped to do so.
Dr Alex Murray, a local Scottish doctor, becomes involved when Leafy seeks medical treatment and later plays a role in dealing with a broader health emergency in the region. As political tensions rise and Leafy's plans unravel, he finds himself increasingly isolated and out of his depth.