Imperial Exile (Emperor Haile Selassie in Britain 1936-40) (Paper Cover)

CONTENTS

Prologue                                                                              

List of key events                                                                       

Introductory notes                                                                       

Map of Ethiopia                                                                           

Chapter One A Year from Hell                                                        

Chapter One Eyewitness In the Emperor's Footsteps:A trip to Dessie     

Chapter Two Testing the Waters                                                       

Chapter Two Eyewitness The Bath Spa Hotel                                    

Chapter Three The King of Kings                                                     

Map of Addis Ababa                                                                       

Chapter Three Eyewitness A Visit to the Emperor's Palace                 

Map of Bath                                                                                 

Chapter Four Taking Refuge                                                            

Chapter Four Eyewitness Tales of a Princess                                    

Chapter Five Murder Most Foul                                                        

Chapter Five Eyewitness The Mystic's Cave                                     

Chapter Six Aiding and Abetting                                                     

Chapter Six Eyewitness Coffee with the Pankhursts                           

Chapter Seven Hitting Rock Bottom                                                 

Map of places visited in the UK                                                        

Chapter Seven Eyewitness Open Day at Fairfield House                     

Chapter Eight The Great Escape                                                      

Chapter Eight Eyewitness The View from Entoto                              

Chapter Nine Counting the Cost                                                      

Chapter Nine Eyewitness The Weekend Retreat                               

Chapter Ten The Final Curtain Call                                                  

Chapter Ten Eyewitness Inside the Guildhall                                 

Epilogue                                                                                     

Acknowledgements                                                                     

List of photographs                                                                      

Chapter sources                                                                          

Bibliography                                                                             

Fairfield residents post-exile                                                        

Foreword

"One of the most neglected aspects of the life story of Emperor Haile Selassie has long been the five 'missing years' spent in exile, during which Ethiopia became the world's first nation-state to fall victim to brutal Fascist occupation. It is well known that largely abandoned by the international community, the Emperor with his small coterie of advisers and sympathizers struggled at the League of Nations to maintain the integrity of his country, and tried to warn the world of the impending dangers of the rising tide of totalitarianism. What is less well known is the human side of the story - the pressures on the man born into a cultural milieu far removed from both the gentility of middle-class England and
the cynicism of European politics of the 1930s.

Following years of in-depth research, Keith Bowers now reveals facets of the Emperor never before published. For the first time, we see 'Haile Selassie the man' - the remarkable ability of the sovereign to adapt to changing fortunes, to embrace his reduced circumstances with dignity, and to face the humiliation of being powerless while his people suffered the heavy yoke of military occupation, while never losing his patience, his Orthodox faith, and the conviction that one day he will return home victorious.And we learn how, when the hour of opportunity finally arrives, the long forgotten and lonely figure bent over the dying embers of his living room hearth in war-time England has lost none of his formidable political acumen. Engaging t:"both King George VI and Winston Churchill in a manner befitting an Emperor and with perfect timing, he returns home in triumph and continues to rule his country for more than three decades. This volume is a must-read for anyone nterested in the modern history of Ethiopia, but is also a compelling account of the resilience of one man to rise above trials and tribulations that most of us will never have to face."

Ian Campbell,

author of The Plot to Kill Graziani and The Massacre ofDebre Libanos.