Ian Mathie spent his childhood in Africa and returned there, after school and a short service commission in the RAF, as a rural development officer working for the British government and several other agencies. His work in water resources and related projects during the 1970s brought him into close contact with the African people, their cultures and varied tribal customs, many of which are now all but lost. These experiences, recorded in his notebooks, were the inspiration for a series of African memoirs, of which Bride Price is the first volume. Ian continued to visit Africa until health considerations curtailed his travelling. He now lives in south Warwickshire with his wife and dog.