Out of Darkness, Shining Light: A Novel (Being a Faithful Account of the Final Years and Earthly Days of Doctor David Livingstone and His Last Journey from the Interior to the Coast of Africa, as Narrated by His African Companions, in Three Volumes)

303 pp. Glossary of Arabic, Swahili, and other terms and phrases, and a bibliography of sources, follow text. Despite the subtitle, this and all editions of this work consist of a single volume. “This is how we carried out of Africa the poor broken body of...David Livingstone, so that he could be borne across the sea and buried in his own land.” So begins Petina Gappah's “searing…poignant” (Star Tribune, Minneapolis) novel of exploration and adventure in 19th-century Africa - the captivating story of the African men and women who carried explorer and missionary Dr. Livingstone's body, papers, and maps, fifteen hundred miles across the continent of Africa, so his remains could be returned home to England and his work preserved there. Narrated by Halima, the doctor's sharp-tongued cook, and Jacob Wainwright, his rigidly pious secretary, this is a “powerful novel, beautifully told” (Jesmyn Ward, author of Sing, Unburied, Sing) that encompasses all of the hypocrisy of slavery and colonization - the hypocrisy of humanity - while celebrating resilience, loyalty, and love.