The Journals of Major-Gen. C.G. Gordon at Kartoum

Description:

Printed from the original mss. Introduction and Notes by A. Egmont Hake. First edition. Major-General Charles George Gordon (1833-1885) was a British army officer and colonial administrator, who served across the empire from China to Crimea and from Romania to the Sudan. These journals cover the period from 10th September 1884 to 14th December 1884, when Gordon was sent to Sudan by the Gladstone government and the Khedive of Ottoman Egypt to combat the Mahdist uprising, a populist religious uprising led by a self-proclaimed Mahdi or Messiah. These journals recount his struggle to protect the city of Khartoum from the besieging Mahdists, despite few soldiers, an empty treasury, and his own tempestuous and temperamental personality.

Condition

8vo, recased in orig. publisher’s maroon cloth, gilt title to spine. Backstrip laid down onto new lining with some creasing; a few small spots to rear board; wear to extremities. Occasional foxing, including to folding map, which also has a long closed tear, neatly repaired, and a few other minor edge tears. Good.