The Anglo-Ethiopian Society
Lecture - Maaza Mengiste: The Shadow King
Maaza Mengiste
Wednesday 4th March 2020
7:00pm, Ethiopian Community in Britain, 2a Lithos Road, London NW3 6EF - Public lecture (all welcome)
Maaza Mengiste will be talking about her new novel, The Shadow King. The story is based on the exploits of a female soldier during Mussolini's invasion of Ethiopia. Her heroine, Hirut, is working in the household of an officer in the Imperial army. When the invasion comes, she and her friends want to play a more active part in the resistance than is offered by the traditional women's role of caring for the wounded and burying the dead.
When Haile Selassie goes into exile, Hirut helps disguise a peasant as the Emperor, and becomes his bodyguard - a plot which allows its author to explore the role of the women soldiers who have largely been written out of history.
Maaza Mengiste's acclaimed first book, Beneath the Lion's Gaze, was set during the revolution of 1974, with her characters living through the death of the Emperor and the subsequent violent events which convulsed Ethiopia.
Maaza Mengiste was born in Addis Ababa but her family left when she was a young child. She now lives in the United States. The Shadow King will be published in the UK in December 2019 in Kindle format and on 30 January 2020 in hardback (ISBN 9781838851163)The Shadow King, at a list price of £16.99 in the UK.
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The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste. Publisher : Canongate Books, 2020 ISBN : 9781838851163 (hardback) |
Doors will open at 6:00pm with complimentary tea, coffee and biscuits available. Capacity at the venue is limited, so please reserve your place soon to avoid disappointment.