TEN YEARS’ CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDI’S CAMP 1882-1892

At a time when the abduction and kidnapping of westerners in Islamic countries is, sadly, an everyday occurrence, this book has an extremely topical interest. It is the memoirs of an Austrian Catholic missionary – Father Joseph Ohrwalder – who was abducted by followers of the Mahdi, the Muslim leader who led an Islamic revolt against British rule in the Sudan. Ohrwalder’s ordeal lasted for ten years, but he managed to escape his captors after a decade in their hands, and, after a desperate ride across the desert, got clean away. He wrote an account in German of his often tragic experiences at the suggestion of Colonel Sir Francis Wingate, the officer who debriefed him after his ordeal. Wingate then translated the book into English for its first publication. As well as his own experiences, Ohrwalder gives an inside view of the rise and fall of the Mahdi – and of such events as the siege of Khartoum and the death of General Gordon. A horrific yet thrilling book.