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Description edit
Journalist Julian Smith is madly in love with his girlfriend of seven years...but terrified by the prospect of a lifelong commitment. Inspired by the story of British adventurer Ewart Grogan, who marched across Africa in 1898 to win the hand of the woman he loved, Julian faces down his fears... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Summary edit
How far would you go for love?
In 1898, the dashing British adventurer Ewart “The Leopard” Grogan was head-over-heels in love—but he needed the approval of his beloved’s skeptical, aristocratic stepfather. To prove his worth, the 24-year-old Cambridge dropout set out on an epic quest to... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)
Characters/People edit
- Julian Smith: Journalist, author, reluctant romantic
- Ewart Grogan: British explorer, “a charmer, a cynic, a swashbuckler, a buccaneer born out of time” (Elspeth Huxley)
- Laura: Add a description of this character.
- Gertrude
- David Livingstone
- Dinka
- Chris
- Shaibu
- Jeff
- Dunn
- Lake Nyasa
- Cecil Rhodes
- Stanley
- Ngenzi
- Palmer
- Sam
- Coleman
- Jane
- Paul
- Michael
- Lake Kivu
- Leopold
- Charles
Quotes edit
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“The months before the wedding seemed like a window inching closed. I could see the domino line of Major Life Changes start to tumble: house, kids, PTA, pension. It was clear that something drastic still needed to happen before I could make this lifetime promise with all my heart. I needed inspiration. I needed a kick in the ass.”
Julian Smith -
“We all have our allotted portions of black and white paint; how we lay it on is a question of temperament. One mixes the pigments carefully and paints his life an even grey. Another dashes in the light and shade with a palette-knife. Such an one is the wanderer in strange climes.”
Ewart Grogan -
“Yegods, what a land! The old boyhood’s desire to shriek and break something that invariably recurred on Sunday morning broke out afresh, and I felt that I was near that indefinable boundary beyond which is madness”
Ewart Grogan
- Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers
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But being out of touch, feeling remote and at least somewhat cut off, will always be an essential part of what it means to me to travel.
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Africa is mystic; it is wild; it is a sweltering inferno; it is a photographer’s paradise, a hunter’s Valhalla, an escapist’s Utopia. It is what you will, and it withstands all interpretations. It is the last vestige of a dead world or the cradle of a shiny new one. … It is all these things but one thing—it is never dull.
Highlighted by 3 Kindle customers -
“The death of one man is a tragedy—the death of millions is a statistic,”
Highlighted by 3 Kindle customers -
Peace of mind is proportional to giving up control; things happen when they happen, or don’t, often for no discernible reason. The best strategy is usually to trust that things will work out. Sometimes they do.
Highlighted by 3 Kindle customers
Setting & Locations edit
Africa
- South Africa
- Sudan
- Uganda
- Rwanda
- Congo
- Cairo
- Lake Tanganyika
- Burundi
- England
- London
- Washington
- Lake Malawi
- Juba
- Beira
- Khartoum
- Kampala
- Tanzania
- Portland
- Baleka
- Germany
- Wa Ruanda
- Ujiji
- Watonga
- Utah
- Nairobi
- Chiromo
- Bujumbura
- Liemba
- Mozambique
- New Zealand
- Mushari
- Cambridge
- Kenia
- Portuguese East Africa
- United States
- New York
- Great Rift Valley
- Manyema
- Blantyre
- Cape Town
- Britain
- Fort Portal
- Watusi
- Kibuye
First Sentence edit
When Ewart Grogan pushed off into the White Nile five days before Christmas, 1899, the sun over southern Sudan fell on his back like a hot sheet of metal, and his diseased liver hurt so badly he couldn’t stand up straight.
Authors & Contributors edit
- Julian Smith (Author)
Awards edit
- American Society of Journalists and Authors Outstanding Book Award (2011: Memoir/Autobiography)
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
- Dewey: 910
Subjects edit
- Books › Travel › Africa
- Books › Biographies & Memoirs › Memoirs
- Books › Biographies & Memoirs › Travel
- Books › Nonfiction › True Accounts
- Books › Biographies & Memoirs › Leaders & Notable People
- Books › History › Africa
- Books › History › Europe › England
Popular Tags
Links to Supplemental Material edit
- JulianSmith.com: Author's website
- Ewart Grogan: Wikipedia page on Ewart Grogan
- From the Cape to Cairo: Ewart Grogan's 1900 book about his trans-Africa trek.
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