大象训练学校 2025年温赖特自然保护写作奖 A Training School for Elephants

基本信息

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin

Publication date ‏ : ‎ 2 April 2026

Language ‏ : ‎ English

Print length ‏ : ‎ 432 pages

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1804994391

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1804994399

Item weight ‏ : ‎ 500 g

Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.7 x 3.5 x 19.8 cm

信息仅供供参考，具体请以实物为准。

书籍简介

《星期日泰晤士报》畅销书榜

入围2026年斯坦福大学年度旅行写作奖

荣获2025年温赖特自然保护写作奖**特别推荐**

继广受好评的《西伯利亚失落的钢琴》之后，本书作者又带来一段新的旅程，讲述四头19世纪的大象从东非海岸被驱赶到刚果的悲惨故事，揭示了殖民主义的愚昧和贪婪。

“2025年最佳夏季读物：一部揭露帝国野心与无能的力作。” 《金融时报》

“这是一本优美、睿智且饱含深情的书，它以精湛的考证，描绘了一场帝国狂热的白日梦，同时也展现了一段同样狂热的当代旅程。”——《星期日泰晤士报》

“历史与游记在这部关于殖民掠夺和傲慢的故事中完美融合……索菲·罗伯茨这部光彩夺目的新作，带领读者踏上一段穿越非洲的旅程，从桑给巴尔到坦噶尼喀湖，再返回桑给巴尔，重走一段早已被人遗忘的探险路线。” ——《卫报》

“这是一本精彩绝伦的书，是历史的重要注脚——索菲·罗伯茨怀着明确的目的，勇敢地踏上了旅程，揭露了比利时和英国的殖民主义及其独特的执念。”——保罗·索鲁，《伟大的铁路集市》作者

“作者巧妙地将冒险、阴谋和殖民野心的黑暗真相交织在一起，讲述了一个引人入胜、发人深省的故事。”——莱维森·伍德，《尼罗河漫步》作者

“本书研究深入，以同理心、引人入胜的邂逅和令人难忘的角色（尤其是大象本身）生动地展现了一段奇异而早已被遗忘的非洲历史。”——卢克·佩佩拉，《祖国：穿越50万年非洲文化与身份的旅程》作者

“索菲·罗伯茨以细腻优美的文笔，将历史鲜活地呈现在读者面前，她以谨慎而精湛的笔触处理了棘手而敏感的话题。” “令人爱不释手。”——玛丽·哈珀，《误解索马里？》作者

“这是一本勇敢而富有探索精神的书，历史底蕴深厚，精神饱满。堪称旅行文学的典范：文笔优美，充满人文关怀，并始终保持着对世界的好奇与敬畏。”——贾斯汀·马罗齐，《巴格达：和平之城，血腥之城》作者

1879年，比利时国王利奥波德二世启动了一项雄心勃勃的计划，意图掠夺非洲的资源。他认为，打开非洲大陆大门的关键在于非洲象——前提是他能够驯服它们。

于是，他委托魅力非凡的爱尔兰冒险家弗雷德里克·卡特，将四头驯服的亚洲象从印度运往东非海岸，然后驱赶它们向内陆进发，目标是刚果。此举的目的是建立一所非洲象训练学校。

罗伯茨追寻着四头大象的足迹，历经比利时、伊拉克、印度、坦桑尼亚和刚果的旅程，拼凑出这段早已被人遗忘的探险故事。她以生动的笔触，塑造了一系列引人入胜的历史人物和现代声音，从象牙贩子到天主教修女，无不栩栩如生地展现了沿途风光。

罗伯茨深入挖掘历史记录，反思我们与动物之间破裂的关系，揭示了一个非凡而又经久不衰的故事，讲述了殖民时代的贪婪、无能、虚伪和愚蠢。

“这是一个关于瓜分非洲早期历史的警世故事，既感人至深，又兼具学术价值。” “罗伯茨的文笔优美。”——托马斯·帕克纳姆，《瓜分非洲》作者

“一幅描绘贪婪与漠视生命的丰富而引人入胜的画卷……很少有人能像罗伯茨那样写出如此扣人心弦的作品，这才是她独有的写作风格。”——阿玛尔·查特吉，《湖畔之旅》作者

INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

SHORTLISTED FOR THE STANFORD'S TRAVEL WRITING BOOK OF THE YEAR 2026

WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR WRITING ON CONSERVATION 2025 **SPECIALLY COMMENDED**

From the acclaimed author of The Lost Pianos of Siberia, comes a new journey, following four 19th century elephants marched from the East African coast towards Congo, to tell a heartbreaking story of folly and colonial greed.

'BEST SUMMER BOOKS OF 2025: An illuminating tale of imperial ambition and ineptitude.' FINANCIAL TIMES

'A beautiful, intelligent and heartfelt book, a brilliantly researched account of an imperial fever dream alongside a no less feverish contemporary journey'- THE SUNDAY TIMES

'History and travelogue combine wonderfully in this tale of colonial plunder and hubris…Sophy Roberts’ luminous new book is a journey through Africa from Zanzibar to Lake Tanganyika and back, retracing the steps of a long-forgotten expedition.' - GUARDIAN

'This is a marvellous book, an important footnote to history - of Sophy Roberts' intrepid travel with a real purpose, shining a light on colonialism, Belgian and British, and their peculiar obsessions.’' - Paul Theroux, author of The Great Railway Bazaar

‘Masterfully weaving adventure, intrigue and the darker truths of colonial ambition into a story as gripping as it is eye-opening.’ - Levison Wood, author of Walking the Nile

'Deeply researched. Brings to life a bizarre and long-forgotten story of Africa with empathy, intriguing encounters and memorable characters, not least the elephants themselves.’ - Luke Pepera, author of Motherland: A Journey through 500,000 Years of African Culture and Identity

‘Sophy Roberts brings history to life, tackling difficult, sensitive subjects with careful, exquisite prose. Unputdownable.’ - Mary Harper, author of Getting Somalia Wrong?

'A brave and searching book, rich in history and fierce in spirit. The best sort of travel writing: handsome prose, teeming with humanity and an unwavering sense of wonder.' - Justin Marozzi, author of Baghdad, City of Peace, City of Blood

In 1879, King Leopold II of Belgium launched an ambitious plan to plunder Africa’s resources. The key to cracking open the continent, or so he thought, was its elephants ― if only he could train them.

And so he commissioned the charismatic Irish adventurer Frederick Carter to ship four tamed Asian elephants from India to the East African coast, where they were marched inland towards Congo. The ultimate aim was to establish a training school for African elephants.

Following in the footsteps of the four elephants, Roberts pieces together the story of this long-forgotten expedition, in travels that take her to Belgium, Iraq, India, Tanzania and Congo. The storytelling brings to life a compelling cast of historic characters and modern voices, from ivory dealers to Catholic nuns, set against rich descriptions of the landscapes travelled.

Roberts digs deep into historic records to reckon with our broken relationship with animals, revealing an extraordinary ― and enduring ― story of colonial greed, ineptitude, hypocrisy and folly.

‘A cautionary tale from the early days of the Scramble for Africa, but poignant and scholarly too. Roberts writes beautifully.’ - Thomas Pakenham, author of The Scramble for Africa

‘A rich, engrossing tapestry of greed and disregard for life … Few write as compellingly as Roberts, this is her as only she can write.’ - Amal Chatterjee, author of Across the Lakes

作者简介

索菲·罗伯茨是一位屡获殊荣的英国记者，也是《金融时报周末版》的定期撰稿人。她广受好评的第一本书《西伯利亚失落的钢琴》荣获2020年《星期日泰晤士报》年度图书奖，并被翻译成八种语言出版。她的第二本书《大象训练学校》是一部不同寻常的探索之作，将失落的历史与现代报道交织在一起，故事发生在印度、伊拉克、刚果民主共和国、坦桑尼亚和比利时。本书讲述了1879年四头大象从印度浦那出发，前往非洲大湖区的旅程，是对殖民野心失控的深刻反思。

Sophy Roberts is an award-winning British journalist, and a regular contributor to FT Weekend. Her critically acclaimed first book, The Lost Pianos of Siberia, was a Sunday Times Book of the Year in 2020, and went on to be published in eight more languages. Her second book, A Training School for Elephants, is another unusual quest, threading lost history with modern reportage in India, Iraq, DRC, Tanzania and Belgium. Following an 1879 journey that four elephants from Pune made to Africa’s Great Lakes, it is a reckoning with colonial ambitions gone berserk.