Hope, Christopher

New York. 1996. Norton. 1st American Edition. Very Good in Dustjacket. 0393040402. Prize-Winning South African Writer. 304 pages. hardcover. Jacket design by Steven Brower Design. keywords: Literature South Africa England. FROM THE PUBLISHER - Faith, courage, and a way with the natives . these gifts carried the great African explorers through the perils of the dark continent. Now they will stand David Mungo Booi in good stead on one of the last great journeys of modern times, the exploration of Darkest England. Booi is a descendant of the San or Bushmen who once roamed widely over the Karoo region in South Africa. Chosen by a conclave of tribal elders, sponsored by The Society for Promoting the Discovery of the Interior of England, Booi embarks on a mission never before attempted by civilized people: to explore England as a site for settlement and to assess the friendliness and capability of the natives. He sets out to answer ancient questions about this strange race: Why do they believe there will always be an England? Did they build Jerusalem in their green and pleasant land? Above all, will their present queen redeem Queen Victoria's promise to save her loyal Red People of the Karoo? Our hero's epic journey takes him from prison to Parliament, from lunatic asylum to Buckingham Palace. Battling every step of the way against disease, cruelty, and superstition, his English notebooks tell a tale as heroic as any African safari, but much darker, and infinitely funnier. inventory #22765 ISBN: 0393040402.