The Anglo-Ethiopian Society
Book Review - Abraham Hannibal and the Battle for the Throne
Frances Somers Cocks
Reviewer - Rita Pankhurst
Last year we published an enthusiastic review by a child, Anna Cavaliero, of Abraham Hannibal and the Raiders of the Sands - a historical novel based on the boyhood adventures of Alexander Pushkin's Ethiopian great-grandfather. Here, now, is a review of the sequel - but this time abridged from a review by Rita Pankhurst in The Ethiopian Review of Books. The sequel recounts Abraham's adventures in the sultan's Seraglio in Istanbul and at the court of Peter the Great, and you don't need to have read the first book to enjoy it - though it obviously makes sense to read them in sequence. The books are aimed at children of around 8-12.
"This is a rollicking adventure story, told vividly in simple but elegant English ... The second and longer volume, just as well researched, carries the story forward with equal skill and verve ... This volume holds the attention of the reader as completely as the earlier one and is as beautifully illustrated by Eric Robson ... These two volumes establish Frances Somers Cocks as a children's fiction writer of stature. The characters are believable, and the background is faithfully filled in. Readers of these books will form a picture of life in Ethiopia, the Middle East and Russia in the early eighteenth century which may awaken in them a desire to travel to these places ..."
Abraham Hannibal and the Raiders of the Sands, ISBN: 0954403401. Price £5.99
Abraham Hannibal and the Battle for the Throne, ISBN: 095440341X. Price £5.99
Both titles, written by Frances Somers Cocks and with illustrations by Eric Robson, are published by:
The Goldhawk Press
19 Kempson Road
London SW6 4PX
E-mail:goldhawkpress@btopenworld.com