The Last Slave Market by Alastair Hazell
The extraordinary story of John Kirk, the Scottish botanist who single-handedly ended the East African slave trade.
This is a humdinger of a taleYou might have thought that journeys into the heart of the Dark Continent with David Livingstone, Henry Morton Stanley and the likes of Richard Burton had already inspired so vast and breathless a literature that there were few surprises left to report. But that's the miracle of this story. Alastair Hazell's genius has been to plough through the huge and well-documented archive, follow his nose, and tell a tale from an entirely new perspective: the life of Dr John Kirk, an early companion to Dr Livingstone, and afterwards a humble Scottish medical officer and Acting British Consul in Zanzibar. In doing so he turns several accounts on their heads, rectifies a seriously skewed picture, rescues a reputation - and on every page enthralls his readers. -- Matthew Parris * The Spectator *
Alastair Hazell is not afraid to tell a good story . . . [this is] the extraordinary story of how a medical functionary opposed to slavery became the effective ruler of the last of the world's great slave-trading nations. * TLS *
There is much to enjoy and reflect upon in this carefully researched and briskly told account. * The Economist *
Overdue. * Sunday Herald *
A fascinating forgotten tale. * Metro *
Despite abolition, the slave trade ?ourished on Zanzibar in the late 19th century, until a Scot, John Kirk, stamped it out. The place's exotic, murky history is well evoked. * The Sunday Telegraph *
[a] grim but spellbinding account....Hazell tells his story with just the right mix of pace and detail, to keep you hooked. * Independent on Sunday *
Alastair Hazell is not afraid to tell a good story . . . [this is] the extraordinary story of how a medical functionary opposed to slavery became the effective ruler of the last of the world's great slave-trading nations. * TLS *
There is much to enjoy and reflect upon in this carefully researched and briskly told account. * The Economist *
Overdue. * Sunday Herald *
A fascinating forgotten tale. * Metro *
Despite abolition, the slave trade ?ourished on Zanzibar in the late 19th century, until a Scot, John Kirk, stamped it out. The place's exotic, murky history is well evoked. * The Sunday Telegraph *
[a] grim but spellbinding account....Hazell tells his story with just the right mix of pace and detail, to keep you hooked. * Independent on Sunday *
Alastair Hazell grew up and worked in East Africa. This is his first book. He now lives in London
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781780336572 |
| ISBN 10 | 1780336578 |
| Title | The Last Slave Market |
| Author | Alastair Hazell |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Little, Brown Book Group |
| Year published | 2012-06-21 |
| Number of pages | 384 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |