H.M. Samkange was born in Harare Zimbabwe and received his BA from Tufts University in History and Masters Degrees from Yale University in East Asian Studies and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, in International Relations. He currently lives in Sammamish, Washington with his wife Shar and his two sons, Austen and Tosh. He is a 5th Dan instructor in kendo, a rabid Chelsea fan and an avid consumer of 18th and 19th century French history and culture. The Chevalier d’Argentolle is his first completed novel.