Description
Book SynopsisFrom the eighteenth century onwards, travelers, explorers, journalists, imaginative writers like Samuel Johnson, and legendary reggae musician Bob Marley have shared a fascination with the Abyssinia. This book considers the allure of the exotic, as represented by Abyssinia, to the British imagination.
Trade Review"I can think of no other book on Abyssinia quite like this one. . . . As usual, the scholarship is excellent--unobtrusive, thorough, wide-ranging, with often exciting juxtapositions and connections. . . . Of vitally absorbing interest.—Alexander Maitland, author of
Wilfred Thesiger: The Life of the Great ExplorerTable of ContentsPrelude: Jamaica, 1981 1 Chapter 1 The Call of Abyssinia: Father Lobo, Samuel Johnson, and Rasselas 3 Chapter 2 "Going Native": James Bruce, Mansfield Parkyns, Richard Burton 16 Interlude: Maqdala 53 Chapter 3 Barbaric Splendors, Golden Legends: Wilfred Thesiger, Evelyn Waugh, Sylvia Pankhurst 66 Chapter 4 "I'm Going to Ethiopia": Recent Visitors 96 Chapter 5 Remembering Zion 127 Postlude: Very Fast Running 140 Notes 143 Works Cited 153 Index 161
