Selim Aga - James McCarthy

Selim Aga was eight years old when he was abducted from the Nuba Mountains of Sudan and sold into slavery and auctioned 2000 miles away in Egypt to the highest bidder. Born around 1827 Selim was killed in a war in Liberia in 1875. How then did this slave come to be lecturing to fashionable audiences in London and publishing in the "Geographical Magazine"? James McCarthy has pieced together the life of this remarkable man using Selim's own narrative and those of others such as Sir Richard Burton.

James McCarthy, former Deputy Director for Scotland of the Nature Conservancy Council, is now a Board Member of SNH. He has extensive experience both of introducing visitors to the best of natural Scotland, and training professionals from conservation organisations. Previously a forest officer in East Africa he became enthralled with the story of Selim Aga.

"The forgotten exploits of an African slave who rose to become an admired figure in Victorian exploration and whose adventures have all the ingredients of a Hollywood blockbuster, are to be revealed in a new book..."
- The Voice