Pierre Crabitès – författare

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.

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.

These pages challenge a historical heresy. They refuse to join in the chorus led by Milner, Colvin, and Cromer, and to agree that Ismail Pasha, the first Khedive of Egypt, was a spendthrift, a voluptuary, and a thief. Not even great names can stand up against facts and figures culled from official sources.