In The Tragedy of the Korosko, Arthur Conan Doyle evokes the uncertaintyof the late-Victorian era, a time of white supremacy and cultural hegemony, but also a time when the moral authority of Western imperialist powers was starting to be called into question. Each ofConan Doyle’s carefully drawn characters takes their part in the cultural and spiritual debate that underlies the story, and each emerges with a greater understanding, be it personal or universal, at the close.

A disparate group of Western tourists collect aboard the Nile steamer Korosko, anticipating a trip filled with sightseeing and civifised colonial pleasures. But when, during a morning excursion in the desert, they are kidnapped by a group of dervish camel-men, their relationships, their beliefs and their very survival are placed in jeopardy.

In The Tragedy of the Korosko, Arthur Conan Doyle evokes the uncertaintyof the late-Victorian era, a time of white supremacy and cultural hegemony, but also a time when the moral authority of Western imperialist powers was starting to be called into question. Each ofConan Doyle’s carefully drawn characters takes their part in the cultural and spiritual debate that underlies the story, and each emerges with a greater understanding, be it personal or universal, at the close.

Written in 1898, and permeated with sharp humour, this high melodrama intertwines Conan Doyle’s dual interests: global responsibility and the quest for spiritual truth.

Foreword by Tony Robinson

The Tragedy of the Korosko

 Notes

Biographical note