# Frances Colenso

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**Frances Ellen Colenso** (30 May 1849 – 28 April 1887) was an English historian of the [Zulu Wars](/source/Anglo-Zulu_War).

## Life

Colenso was born in [Forncett](/source/Forncett) in [Norfolk](/source/Norfolk) in 1849. Her father was [John Colenso](/source/John_Colenso) and her mother was Frances Colenso. She was known as "Fanny" by her family and friends. Colenso was educated at the [John Ruskin](/source/John_Ruskin) inspired [Winnington Hall](/source/Winnington_Hall) until 1864 before attending the [Slade School of Art](/source/Slade_School_of_Art). She wrote and aspired to be an artist.[1]

[Lieutenant-Colonel](/source/Lieutenant-Colonel_(United_Kingdom)) [Anthony Durnford](/source/Anthony_Durnford) was stationed at [Pietermaritzburg](/source/Pietermaritzburg) in 1873 where he was befriended by [her father](/source/John_William_Colenso). Durnford had a close relationship with Colenso. Though Durnford and his wife lived separate lives, the fact that he was married meant that he and Frances could only be close friends.[2] After Durnford's death at the [Battle of Isandlwana](/source/Battle_of_Isandlwana), Frances Colenso with Durnford's brother wrote two books exculpating Anthony Durnford from responsibility for that British defeat by the Zulus: *My Chief and I* (1880); *History of the Zulu Wars* (1880).[3]

Frances also campaigned for the Zulu people suffering under the British-imposed break-up of the Zulu nation following the end of the Zulu War.

Bishop Colenso, Frances's father, died in June 1883 and her elder sister Harriet became the de facto head of the family.[1] Frances published two books on the Zulus and the British (*History of the Zulu War and Its Origin*[4] in 1880 and *The Ruin of Zululand*[5] in 1885) that explained events in Zululand from a pro-Zulu perspective. The books were not popular and Harriet is thought to have had a guiding hand in their production.[1]

Colenso developed tuberculosis after nursing an infected soldier in Natal. She spent her final days being treated for tuberculosis in [Ventnor](/source/Ventnor), where she died, possibly of a heart attack, and is buried.

## In popular culture

- In the 1979 film *[Zulu Dawn](/source/Zulu_Dawn)*, Colenso is portrayed by [Anna Calder-Marshall](/source/Anna_Calder-Marshall).

## References

1. B. M. Nicholls, ‘Colenso, Harriette Emily (1847–1932)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2006 [accessed 2 Jan 2017](http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/46549,)

1. J. P. C. Laband, ‘Durnford, Anthony William (1830–1879)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2008 [accessed 2 Jan 2017](http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/8325,)

1. B. M. Nicholls, 'Colenso, Harriette Emily (1847–1932)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2006 [accessed 2 Jan 2017](http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/46549,)

1. Frances Colenso (22 September 2011). [*History of the Zulu War and Its Origin*](https://books.google.com/books?id=7o_CAjp1qlUC). [Cambridge University Press](/source/Cambridge_University_Press). ISBN 978-1-108-03209-4. Retrieved 2 January 2017.

1. Frances Ellen Colenso (6 March 2012). [*The Ruin of Zululand: An Account of British Doings in Zululand Since the Invasion of 1879, Volume 1...*](https://books.google.com/books?id=8t7DuQAACAAJ). [Nabu Press](/source/Nabu_Press). ISBN 978-1-277-20515-2. Retrieved 2 January 2017.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Frances Colenso](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Colenso) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Colenso?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.