Customer Reviews

The Stolen Woman: Florence Baker's Extraordinary Life from the Harem to the Heart of Africa

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is an interesting one. The story of the Bakers has been well researched and I have read a great deal on them plus their contemporaries. The book is well illustrated and the historical sections are basically in line with other sources. Their lives were really remarkable. What detracted from the book from my point of view, was the author creating words she believed they would have used in their circumstances and this is a mistake. If she had really thought about the two, read his diaries, thought about Victorian gentlemen of the Victorian era, Florences' background, I think her sentences she created for them would have been different. Words that weren't even in existance are used. I cannot imagine Sir Samuel Baker exclaiming "Phoey" any more than I can imagine him saying "Lets Google the Nile's source and discover it!" I know I am nitpicking a good book but it would have been an excellent book if the author had stuck to the historical fact and not embellished it with unfitting prose. I have no doubt others will disagree.

Amazing story of Florence Baker. Patrice Williams wrote a screenplay about this same story called, "The River and the Ribbon." You will not believe what this couple had to endure before and after they met as well as before and after they returned from the Nile. A must read.

Being plucked from a harem...how great is that to get you intrigued. Not as gripping or enthralling as "Skeletons on the Zahara", but a great read. Few of us would experience or even know anyone who experienced such mind-boggling adventures as Florence and Mr Baker. It's a love story to boot. If you enjoy this book, you'll be blown away by Skeltons on the Zahara, a more grisly and astounding account of unbelievable hardship and adventure based on fact. Hats off to those who can/could endure the most extreme conditions and arduous journeys. I prefer my comfie fire and reading chair, tho.

During the golden age of exploration Samuel Baker's destiny becomes entwined with that of the extraordinary Florenz at an Ottoman empire slave auction. The two share a long lasting love for each other and adventure that endures the hardships of 9 years in Africa and the navigation of Victorian British society. The book offers many insights into their adventures and relationships with notable friends, such as, the Prince and Princess of Wales, Sir Richard Burton, Speke & Grant, and Chinese Gordon.