Main Characters
Rev. Reginald Collins (1851-?), age 34
Catholic field preacher in His Majesty's Army since 1879. Participated as a field preacher in the 1st Battalion of Irish Fusiliers in the 1882 campaign to put down an Egyptian revolt in Egypt. Repatriated because of severe heat stroke. In March 1885, he rejoins a war expedition to put down the Madhi revolt as well as to avenge the death of General Gordon. After being discharged, he accompanies Richard Shanahan, his aide-de-camp, in search of his brother in Alexandria. In the course of the plot he feels more and more attracted to mystically oriented Christianity.
"The original ground of God and the original ground of the soul are one and the same. (Meister Eckhart) And here is also rooted the primordial trust that we place in the divine creation, and which is lost when the ground of the soul is overlaid by our desires and vices."
Victor Collins (1852-1924), age 33
Brother of the field chaplain. PhD in Musicology, journalist and publicist, librarian of the Prince Louis Lucien Bonaparte (see below). Private tutor in Oxford. Edits the works of the Italian authoress Ginevra Rangoni (see below). Seeks a position as a Fellow at one of the Oxford colleges. His areas of expertise are literature and philosophy. He is the husband of Ellen Collins, born O’Connell Bianconi (see below). "Perhaps there is something like a mirror behind my head that reflects the radiance of my presence and shines it more weakly back onto the past and the future. Whatever the case, the fact is that outside this reflection there is nothing but darkness."
Ellen O’C. Bianconi (1860-1942), age 25
Wife of Victor Collins, daughter of Charles Bianconi junior (1831-1864) and Eilie O'Connell Fitzsimon (1838-1919), a great-granddaughter of Daniel O'Connell, the ‘liberator‘ of Ireland. The early death of two children hit her hard. A third child is 1 year old at the time of the narrative. She suffers from melancholy and is being treated by the psychiatrist Dr Georges Sigerson.
"Sometimes I feel like I'm a stranger to everyone, including myself. I wasted the whole day in bed today. I cry over nothing and all the time. I've also been having nightmares again."
Prince Louis Lucien Bonaparte, (1813-1891) age 72
Louis Lucien Bonaparte was a French-Italian patron, linguist, bascologist, romance scholar and dialectologist who worked in London (Oxford in the novel). Close friends with his secretary and librarian Victor Collins. Bonaparte's most important own researches concern Basque. His manuscripts from his estate comprise 24 volumes.
"My goal is to collect a copy of every language and dialect in the world."
Clemence Richard Bonaparte (1830-1915), age 55
Clemence Richard is the wife of the prince. She has dark, searching eyes, a narrow nose and thin lips, which gives her an austere appearance. She is a follower of a spiritualist movement. During a séance she is able to contact her deceased mother.
"Binder [the medium] opens his mouth. A cloud drifts out of it and forms the outline of a face. 'Mother, mother!' exclaims Mrs Richard. 'How happy you make me!’"
Minor Characters
Richard Shanahan (1865-1932), age 20
Aide-de-camp of the field preacher Victor Collins. In search of his brother Richard, who has joined the Fenians (Irish freedom fighters), he travels to Alexandria. There he finds his brother, who however has to leave Egypt immediately because of his desertion. "I'm looking for my big brother. He went off the rails and our father kicked him out. We know he signed up under a fake name and got himself drafted."
Thomas Shanahan (1864-1885), alias Kevin O’Brien, age 21
Brother of Richard Shanahan, soldier in the Expeditionary Corps. Deserts with Fenians on patrol and joins the troops of the Madhi as a spy. He is tracked down in Alexandria by the British secret police, but manages to escape. In England, however, he is arrested and sentenced by a military court to death by shooting.
"Here it is a beetle that, when it gets dark, slips out of a crack and searches for any crumbs. Much like us humans. We crawl submissively under the Lord's table and bash each other's heads in for the leftovers of the feast."
Dick Heldar (1860-1934), age 25
Painter and portraitist in the British Army. His pictures of the Suakin campaign appear in the Graphic and English Illustrated magazines. After his discharge, he works as a draftsman for Giuseppe Botti at the Greco-Roman Museum in Alexandria. There he meets Dodi Anhouri and falls in love with her. A month later, they marry in Oxford.
"But you can hardly get the desert colors. Just look behind you: opal, umber, amber, wine red, brick red and lemon yellow - all against a brown background. Look also at the jet-black rock in front of it. Nature is just the most powerful artist!"
Dodi Anhouri (1859-1942), age 26
Dodi is a native Alexandrian whose parents immigrated from Lebanon. Her father was the Lebanese consul in Alexandria. She organizes Kevin O'Brien's escape, then falls in love with Dick Heldar, whom she later marries.
"Heldar looks at Dodi from the side as she walks. She is wearing a flowered short-sleeved dress. Her gait is graceful and the light tan skin of her arms glistens in the sun. The ponytail of her ebony hair exposes a gently curved neck."
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Herbert Belling-Tarpenhow (1847-?),
age 38
Times war correspondent. Rather short, feisty and bulky, he has a bald forehead and wears a bushy moustache. He accompanies Victor Collins and Richard Shanahan on their travels.
"Our readers in England want to be amused for breakfast anyway, and hear of the exploits of our army in the picturesque Sudan. That their countrymen are dying of thirst here, committing massacre after massacre, and that our army is going to the dogs, no one cares."
Constantin Cavafy (1863-1933), age 22
Constantin Cavafy is considered one of the most important Greek poets of modern times. In Alexandria, he offers himself as a guide to Padre Reginald Collins and Richard Shanahan. He discusses his poetry with Rev. Reginald Collins
John Patrick Leonard (1814-1889), age 71
English teacher, writer and Irish nationalist who settles in Paris. He supports persecuted Irish freedom fighters with advice and finance. He admits Thomas Shanahan, alias Kevin O'Brien, to the Irish Brotherhood.
John O’Leary (1830-1907), age 55
Irish republican and a leading Fenian. He studied law and medicine without graduating. He was imprisoned in England for his involvement with the Irish Republican Brotherhood. Assists and advises Thomas Shanahan, aka Kevin O'Brien, in his attempt to break away from the violent Irish Nationalists.
Dr Georges Sigerson (1836-1925), age 49
Irish physician, scientist, writer, politician and poet. He was a leader of the literary revival in late 19th-century Ireland. Studied psychiatry at the Salpêtrière with Charcot. As a psychiatrist, he cared for Ellen Collins, who suffered from bouts of dejection after losing two children.
Max Müller (1823-1900), age 62
German linguist and religious scholar who taught at Oxford. Under his direction was published the Sacred Books of the East, a 50-volume series of English translations of Asian religious writings. Friend of Prince Louis Lucien Bonaparte. Accompanied Rev. Reginald Collins on his forays into Indian philosophy and mysticism.
Synopsis
Prologue
Storrington (Great Britain) during the Second World War. A plane crashes and sets fire to the attic of a house. Documents stored in a chest can be saved. They form the basis for the description of the following events.
Chapter I: Bloody Sand
Victor Collins, field preacher in the British Expeditionary Corps, arrives in Suakin (Sudan) with his, adjutant Richard Shanahan. He introduces himself to the army commander, who is already expecting him. Then they move into their quarters in the army tent camp. The inhabitants of the tent introduce themselves: Dick Heldar, draftsman, and Herbert Tarpenhow, Times correspondent.
Banquet in officers' mess and speech by the General. On Easter Sunday, Padre Collins celebrates Mass for the Catholics. Afterwards, they visit an army transshipment point on Quarantine Island. Nightly shelling of the insurgents: the battles of Hasheen and Tofrek. After being discharged from the army, Richard Shanahan wants to go to Alexandria in search of his brother. The Padre, fluent in Arabic, offers to accompany him.
Chapter II: The Bibliophile Prince
Prince Louis Lucien Bonaparte and his librarian, Victor Collins, discuss possible ways of organizing libraries. Collins then works on the map of Basque dialects that the prince has designed, colouring the different dialectal areas. He then writes a report on his last trip with the Prince in the Basque country. After finishing the work, he goes home and finds his wife in bed. She is suffering from depression and tells her husband about her nightmares. Both find their family doctor incompetent, and Victor suggests seeking advice from psychiatrist Dr Georges Sigerson. Since Sigerson is a friend of the prince, Victor wants to ask him for a letter of recommendation. A few days later, Dr Sigerson meets with Ellen Collins and suggests therapy.
Chapter III: Betrayal and Escape
The Padre, Richard Shanahan, Dick Heldar and Herbert Tarpenhow arrive in Alexandria. They check into their rooms at the Hotel Victoria. The next day Shanahan and the Padre go to an address Shanahan has obtained. They meet Constantine Cavafy, who tells them that Kevin O'Brien, alias Richard Shanahan, is most likely staying at the Café El-Hendy. They find him there among friendly Fenians (Irish liberation fighters). Kevin O'Brien, alias Thomas Shanahan, invites them both to his apartment. But as they approach the apartment, a distraught Cavafy comes to meet them and explains that O'Brien's apartment has been searched by detectives. O'Brien then quickly separates from his friends and seeks out Dodi Anhouri, an acquaintance, who then helps him escape from Egypt. O'Brien escapes as a stowaway on a freighter. Several days later, the Padre, Shanahan and Tarpenhow make a trip to the monasteries in Wadi Natrun.
Chapter IV: Visit from the Beyond
Victor Collins works on the manuscript of Mrs Ginevra Rangoni, an Italian poet. He notices that the texts have been revised. Therefore, he writes to the publisher and asks for clarification. It turns out that the poet's father has probably censored her texts. The next day, Victor Collins is back with the prince. Their conversation turns, among other things, to classification issues in language publications. In the afternoon, Collins falls into the clutches of two crooks who steal his money. Collins then goes to the police. In the evening, he again translates texts by Mrs. Ginevra Rangoni.
Victor Collins receives a letter from the poet's father, who assures him that he has not changed anything in his daughter's texts; he merely made copies. He also reports that he has contact with his deceased daughter through spiritualistic séances. Since Clémence Richard, the wife of the prince, also takes part in séances, Victor joins her and witnesses how she talks to her deceased mother. Back home, Victor tells Ellen about his experiences, which she receives skeptically. They decide, as suggested by Dr Sigerson, to take a recuperative trip to Brighton.
Chapter V: Of Druids and Monks
In search of books on the Coptic language, the Padre goes to Constantin Cavafy, who leads him to a bookseller friend. In addition to linguistic publications, Padre Collins acquires three valuable pages from a gospel book. Back at Cavafy's apartment, the poet shows the Padre his poems. During this time, Dick Heldar and Dodi Anhouri spend a day at the beach. Returning to Dodi's apartment, Dick Heldar paints her portrait.
Meanwhile, Kevin O'Brien has reached Paris, where he joins Irish Fenians in exile and is accepted into the Brotherhood. Soon, however, Kevin O'Brien experiences a crisis of purpose and wants to distance himself from the violent wing of the Fenians.
In Alexandria, the Padre, Richard Shanahan and Herbert Tarpenhow embark on the SS Cachard and sail for Malta. There the Padre is to be formally inducted into the University Senate. Once in Valletta, the Padre heads to the university to introduce himself to the Senate President. In the afternoon, he works on his inaugural address, which he will deliver the next day in the university auditorium.
Chapter VI: A Wedding
In the morning, the Prince, the Padre and Victor Collins chat on the porch at the Prince's mansion. The Padre announces that Dick Heldar and Dodi Anhouri are coming to Oxford to be married. Dick Heldar, like the Padre, attended middle school at the Downforth monastery boarding school, and wants to get married in the monastery church there. But he also has some sad news: Kevin O'Brien, alias Thomas Shanahan, has been arrested and must be court-martialed. The Padre visits the unfortunate man in Aldershot prison and tries to find words of comfort.
The following day, the Padre, Victor Collins, Dick Heldar and Dodi Anhouri leave for Downforth Abbey. The Padre wants to make the necessary arrangements for the wedding.
In Aldershot, a few days later, Richard Shanahan is found guilty of desertion and treason by a court martial and sentenced to death by firing squad.
The wedding celebration takes place a week later at Downforth Abbey and unites the protagonists, who talk about their future. The final lines spoken by Ellen Collins harks back to the quotation from Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage at the beginning of the book: “And all went merry as a marriage bell; / But hush! hark! a deep sound strikes like a rising knell!’ In Byron’s poem the dance takes place on the eve of the battle of Waterloo, suggesting ominously that Victor’s and Reginald’s plans might be thwarted due to the eventual collapse of the Victorian world order.