A TRAINING SCHOOL FOR ELEPHANTS

From the award winning author of The Lost Pianos of Siberia comes a new journey following four 19th century elephants marched from the East African coast towards Congo to tell a heartbreaking story of folly and colonial greed INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERWINNER OF THE STANFORD S TRAVEL WRITING BOOK OF THE YEAR 2026WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR WRITING ON CONSERVATION 2025 SHORTLISTEDBest Summer Books of 2025 An illuminating tale of imperial ambition and ineptitude FINANCIAL TIMES A beautiful intelligent and heartfelt book a brilliantly researched account of an imperial fever dream alongside a no less feverish contemporary journey THE SUNDAY TIMES History and travelogue combine wonderfully in this tale of colonial plunder and hubris GUARDIANIn 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 tog