Real travel writers seem increasingly few. It’s wonderful to hear such a fine new voice.

So says travel writing legend Colin Thubron about British journalist and author Sophy Roberts, who comes to BridLit on Friday 7 November at Bridport Electric Palace.

Her latest book, A Training School for Elephant, became an instant Sunday Times bestseller.

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Over to Sophy:

The story is tethered to an 1879 expedition to Africa commissioned by King Leopold II of Belgium. Four Asian elephants were shipped from India to Dar es Salaam, then marched inland towards Congo.

Leopold wanted to establish a training school for taming wild African elephants. He needed a transport system to extract the region’s resources, including its ivory, for piano keys, billiard balls and more. Weaving past and present, I follow in the expedition’s footsteps to interrogate a forgotten story of cruelty and folly.

The consequences of that little-known elephant expedition are geographically and thematically far-reaching, extending into Belgium, Scotland, Ireland, Iraq, India, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Like my first book, The Lost Pianos of Siberia, I combine history and archive images with travel and contemporary reportage. I bring to life a cast of characters, question what is missing from the stories we inherit, and the gaps in our knowledge and reckonings with the past.

For tickets, visit Bridport Tourist Information Centre, 01308 424901, or the Electric Palace website here.