Book description
A fascinating narrative excursion into a bizarre episode in 19th
century Ethiopian and British imperial history, featuring a remote
African despot and his monstrous European-built gun.
Towards the end of 1867, Emperor Tewodros II of Ethiopia burnt his own
capital, took his vast mortar - named 'Sevastopol' - and began a retreat
to the mountain stronghold of Mekdala. For months thousands of his
followers struggled to build a road for the great gun, levelling the
soil of the high plains, hacking out a way down into mile-deep gorges.
At the same time, a hostile British force, under General Napier, was
advancing from the coast. It was the climax to the reign of one of the
most colourful and extraordinary rulers in African history.
Discovering traces of the road in the highlands, and drawing on years
of involvement with Ethiopia, Philip Marsden recounts the story of
Tewodros. From his spectacular rise - from camel-raider to King of Kings
- Tewodros was a man who combined a sense of Biblical destiny with
personal charisma and military genius. He restored the fortunes of the
ancient Christian kingdom, introduced reforms to his army and to the
church, and dreamed of an alliance with the great powers of Europe.
But as his reforms stalled and the British Foreign Office lost his
letter to Queen Victoria, Tewodros's behaviour became more and more
violent and erratic. When he imprisoned the British consul, years of
negotiation culminated in one of the most bizarre - and expensive -
campaigns of the Victorian age.
'The Barefoot Emperor' is history at its most thrilling and dramatic.
Using narrative skills proven in such acclaimed books as 'The Bronski
House' and 'The Chains of Heaven', Philip Marsden recreates scenes and
characters of glittering intensity - and the intriguing paradoxes of a
central figure grappling not only with his own people and his own
demons, but with the seductive and unstoppable approach of the modern
world. 'A masterly account…Marsden's compelling narrative is full of
gems… “The Barefoot Emperor” 'warms the insides' in specifically
Ethiopian ways. It's a triumph; a work of entirely unpredicted
necessity.' Independent
'Marsden is required reading on Ethiopia…accessible and masterly…a
well-crafted narrative which skips along with admirable pace and gusto.' Scotsman
'Gripping and meticulously researched.' Tablet
'An amazing story…a page-turning narrative of a sort I haven't read in
years.' Spectator
Praise for 'Chains of Heaven':
'Utterly transporting.' Sunday Times
'A born storyteller…a writer of prodigious gifts with a fascination for
remote, spiritual, difficult places.' Spectator
'Ethiopia provokes the questing spirit, as does this thrilling and
intelligent book.' Daily Telegraph Philip Marsden has written several
highly-praised and award-winning travel books - including 'The Crossing
Place: A Journey among the Armenians', 'The Bronski House', 'The
Spirit-Wrestlers' and 'Chains of Heaven: An Ethiopian Romance' - and one
novel, 'The Main Cages'. He lives in Cornwall.
