Four Guineas by Elspeth Huxley (1974, Hardcover)

This is the first of Elspeth Huxley's books I have come across and I am delighted to find that she is the author of so many other works, since this one is a beauty. If you have an interest in Africa, or British Colonial Africa, or humanity at large, you will find something of interest here, very poignantly described by an observer who had considerable African knowledge, even though she was new to these particular areas. The areas she covers are Gambia, Sierra Leone, the Gold Coast (present day Ghana), and Nigeria.

The text is a delight. Here is an example from page one of the section on Gambia: "Three Moors stood in voluble debate outside a Syrian shop in Bathurst. Thin, bearded, hollow-cheeked, with black diamond eyes, they waved bony hands in argument like Hebrew prophets discussing the authenticity of Moses' tablets." Marvellous stuff and there is plenty more like it. A tremendous read, as well as being something of an eye-opener.