Gordon The Sudan and Slavery Routledge Library Editions: Sudan Series

The critics of Charles George Gordon accused him of vacillation and of instability of character. His supporters refused to admit that he was inconstant; they took the position that it was the Gladstone Cabinet which manifested a spirit of indecision that was fraught with terrible consequences. General Gordon was a prolific letter-writer, and he also kept a journal. Many official notes and dispatches deal with his final mission to Khartoum. This book, first published in 1933, attempts to get at the truth of Gordon?s character and his time in the Sudan through these letters, this journal, these notes and despatches.

1. Introductory 2. Ismail, Khedive of Egypt 3. Gordon Called to Central Africa 4. Anti-Slavery ‘Prohibition’ and ‘Regulation’ 5. Gordon Leaves for Gondokoro 6. Ever on the Trek 7. Departs for Lake Albert 8. Surveys the Victoria Nile 9. Returns to the Sudan 10. Inspects Darfur 11. Finishes His Inspection 12. Summoned to Cairo 13. The Debt Inquiry 14. The Aftermath of the Inquiry 15. The End of Gordon’s First Mission to the Sudan 16. The Sudan Abandoned 17. Gladstone Drafts Gordon 18. Gordon’s Instructions 19. At Cairo 20. En Route to Khartoum 21. Arrival at Khartoum 22. First Days at Khartoum 23. The Berber Expedition 24. The Mahdi’s Letter 25. The Veil of Silence 26. Demoted 27. Alone 28. The Dash to Khartoum 29. Too Late