''A modern-day Freya Stark'' - Tatler
''Roberts'' writing is beguiling'' - The i
''Roberts is a wonderfully lyrical writer'' - Observer
From the acclaimed author of The Lost Pianos of Siberia, comes a new journey tracing a colonial-era African expedition.
In 1879, King Leopold II of Belgium launched an ambitious plan to plunder Africa-s resources. The key to cracking open the continent, or so he thought, was its elephants - if only he could train them. And so he commissioned the charismatic Irish adventurer Frederick Carter to ship four tamed Asian elephants from India to the East African coast, where they were marched inland towards Congo. The ultimate aim was to establish a training school for African elephants.
Following in the footsteps of the four elephants, Roberts pieces together the story of this long-forgotten expedition, in travels that take her to Belgium, Iraq, India, Tanzania and Congo. The storytelling brings to
