A Training School for Elephants

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin

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.

Featuring immersive field recordings, created by Sophy Roberts and Wolfe Purcell.


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.

‘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
© Sophy Roberts 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

Critics Review

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. Reflective, watchful, calm, Roberts is such a vivid travel writer that you forget what a brilliant historian she is. She has the water-diviner’s gift for stories in unlikely places.
Guardian
Roberts writes elegantly and empathetically and part of the book's power is seeing through her astute eyes the bleak and strange fate of so many magnificent elephants.
Independent
Roberts brings to immediate life the bizarre and long-forgotten story of Belgian king Leopold II's plan to train elephants in Africa that would help plunder its resources. A deeply-researched and smoothly-written blend of travel and historical writing filled 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 takes us from stormy, desolate Donegal on to a journey into a dark corner of history, untangling the strands of Belgian king Leopold’s seemingly insane plan to use elephants from India to plunder the Congo. She weaves a rich, engrossing tapestry of greed and disregard for life, human and animal, that stretches across continents, and across time, from the late nineteenth century to this day. This is more than an account, it’s a deep dive into the avarice and complexity of colonialism, skilfully guided by a narrator whose words brings to life people, places and actions that have been set aside or glossed over. To read it is to know so much more of the world today and then, and how the past shapes the present. Few write as compellingly as Roberts, this is her as only she can write.
Amal Chatterjee, author of Across The Lakes
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
Sophy Roberts’ chance encounter with a map leads her to a bizarre colonial project to march Indian elephants into the heart of Africa to train their unruly cousins. She retraces their journey, bringing history to life with vivid descriptions of brutal terrain and encounters with living descendants of those involved in this cruel, misguided venture. Roberts tackles difficult, sensitive subjects with careful, exquisite prose. Unputdownable.
Mary Harper, former BBC Africa editor, UN Advisor and author of Getting Somalia Wrong?
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
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
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, in this case elephants, beloved creatures also colonized and exploited.
Paul Theroux

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