The pale Abyssinian - Miles Bredin

The biography of one of Britain's greatest explorers by a brilliant young writer.

'A wonderful story, splendidly retold' Anthony Daniels, Sunday Telegraph

'Bruce emerges from this penetrating and original study as one of the toughest, bravest, most effective and learned of British African pioneers. He mapped and sounded the Red Sea; he was the first European for more than two centuries to get into, then out of, Abyssinia and live to tell the tale. He also located and mapped the source of the Blue Nile, carried back seeds, plants, birds and animals never before seen, and crossed the Nubian desert' Robert Carver, Times Literary Supplement

'An excellent account of the man and his travels. James Bruce was a larger-than-life character whose exploits deserved retelling and whose reputation sorely demanded rehabilitation. The Pale Abyssinian does both of them proud' Michael Thompson-Noel, Financial Times

'Hugely enjoyable' Tablet

'The purpose of Bredin's book is to restore Bruce's reputation, but he does much more than that. He allows us to glimpse the barbarous splendour of a still-medieval Ethiopia. after Bruce's departure the curtains of this forbidden kingdom were once again drawn and it was another century before the great Victorian explorers set off in his wake. When they did so they were carrying Bruce's Travels' Giles Milton, Mail on Sunday

'An interesting story dashingly told' Philip Hensher, Spectator