Overview

Arthur Conan Doyle's visit to Egypt in 189596 included a trip up the Nile from Cairo to Wadi Halfa in a Cook's steamer, which he documents in The Nile Journal, published here for the first time. His trip also included a month reporting on Kitchener's expeditionary army's march south to confront the 'Dervish' forces of the Khalifa. Both experiences informed the novella The Tragedy of the Korosko, a tale of abduction and rescue on the Sudanese frontier, published serially in the Strand in 1897 and in book form in 1898. This edition is the first scholarly treatment of this important book, a key text for the understanding of Conan Doyle's imperialism. A decade later saw the staging of The Fires of Fate, his dramatisation of the tale, with significant changes to characters and story. This play had a modest success on the stage, but has never appeared in print. Juxtaposing these two works highlights Conan Doyle's mastery of two forms of storytelling, while the differences between the two illustrate his evolving views and practices in the middle years of his literary career.

Full Product Details

Author:   Professor Douglas Kerr (Honorary Research Fellow, Birkbeck College, University of London) ,  Arthur Conan Doyle
Publisher:   Edinburgh University Press
Imprint:   Edinburgh University Press
ISBN:  

9781399554541

ISBN 10:   1399554549
Pages:   416
Publication Date:   31 May 2026
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   Not yet available  
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Language:   English

Table of Contents

General Editor’s Introduction Acknowledgements Chronology of the Life of Arthur Conan Doyle Introduction to The Tragedy of the Korosko Genesis and Composition Publication History Reception Context: The Dervish Wars Context: Tales of Empire The Tragedy of the Korosko Preface Chapter I Chapter II Chapter III Chapter IV Chapter V Chapter VI Chapter VII Chapter VIII Chapter IX Chapter X Introduction to The Fires of Fate Genesis and Composition Production and Performance History Reception Context: The Edwardian Theatre Context: Dramatic Styles and Genres The Fires of Fate Act I Act II Act III Act IV Scene 1 Act IV Scene 2 Introduction to The Nile Journal The Nile Journal Essays on the Texts The Tragedy of the Korosko The Fires of Fate Apparatus for The Tragedy of the Korosko Explanatory Notes The Tragedy of the Korosko The Fires of Fate The Nile Journal

Reviews

Conan Doyle’s ripping yarn of kidnapped tourists in the Sudanese badlands is impeccably edited by Douglas Kerr. The volume includes Doyle’s dramatic adaptation, The Fires of Fate, as well as the Nile journal he mined for the novel, both of which appear in print here for the first time. -- Ian Duncan, University of California Berkeley

Author Information

Douglas Kerr is Honorary Research Fellow at Birkbeck College, University of London and Honorary Professor of English and former Dean of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Hong Kong. He is the author of Orwell and Empire (2022), Conan Doyle: Writing, Profession, and Practice (2013), Eastern Figures: Orient and Empire in British Writing (2008), and Wilfred Owen's Voices: Language and Community (1993). He is General Editor of the Edinburgh Edition of the Works of Arthur Conan Doyle (22 vols), for which he has edited Conan Doyle's autobiography, Memories and Adventures (2022).

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