'e~A masterly account'e¦Marsden's compelling narrative is full of gems'e¦ 'eoeThe Barefoot Emperor'e 'warms the insides' in specifically Ethiopian ways. It's a triumph; a work of entirely unpredicted necessity.'e(tm) Independent 'e~Compelling'e¦a balanced, full-bodied account'e¦of these extraordinary events'e¦Marsden, an expert on Ethiopia, is also a gifted storyteller and his narrative has pace and, above all, suspense.'e(tm) Sunday Times 'e~Marsden has done an amazing job of reconstruction'e¦ wonderfully strange.'e(tm) Daily Express 'e~An amazing story'e¦a page-turning narrative of a sort I haven't read in years.'e(tm) Spectator 'e~Marsden has combined his outstanding skills as a travel writer 'e" his intimate knowledge of a foreign clime, his instinctive sympathy for a lost culture, his wonderfully evocative, almost poetic prose style 'e" with the research talents of a first-rate sleuth to produce a quite spellbinding work of historical biography 'e(tm) Sunday Telegraph 'e~Marsden first visited Ethiopia in the 1980s; his understanding of the country is manifest on every page. His narrative 'e¦ is beautifully paced, and his story is incredible.'e(tm) Daily Telegraph 'e~It is Philip Marsden's achievement that he has made Theodore central to his theme'e¦as always, Marsden manages to handle his research material with a light touch and lets the story develop its own momentum.

This is imperial history told without an imperial perspective.'e(tm) TLS 'e~There are few, if any, historians who can match the wit, pace and flair of Philip Marsden. It reads less like history than a rip-roaring novel with a cast of chatracters as extraordinary as any fiction-writer could devise.'e(tm) Mail on Sunday 'e~Philip Marsden is a wonderful writer who tells the tragic story of Tewodros with sympathy, elegance and a knowledge of Ethiopia that few Western writers can match. His book makes a fine present for Christmas.'e(tm) Literary Review.