This is an article about the novel. For a film based on it, see In Desert and Wilderness (film)

In Desert and Wilderness (film)

Adapted from a popular young adult novel, In Desert and Wilderness by Polish author Henryk Sienkiewicz written in 1912, Desert and Wilderness is the story of two kids, Staś Tarkowski and Nel Rawlison, kidnapped by the rebels during Mahdi's rebellion in Sudan...

.

In Desert and Wilderness is a popular novel for young people by Polish

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 author and Nobel Prize-winning novelist Henryk Sienkiewicz

Henryk Sienkiewicz

Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz was a Polish journalist and Nobel Prize-winning novelist. A Polish szlachcic of the Oszyk coat of arms, he was one of the most popular Polish writers at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1905 for his...

, written in 1912. It is in fact the author's only novel written for children. It tells the story of two young friends, Staś Tarkowski and Nel Rawlinson, kidnapped by the rebels during Mahdi's

Muhammad Ahmad

Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah was a religious leader of the Samaniyya order in Sudan who, on June 29, 1881, proclaimed himself as the Mahdi or messianic redeemer of the Islamic faith...

 rebellion in Sudan

Sudan

Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...

. It was filmed twice, in 1973 and in 2001.

Plot

The story takes place in the 19th century Egypt. A 14-year-old Polish boy Stanisław (Staś) Tarkowski and 8-year-old English girl Nel Rawlison live with their families and grow up in the city of Port Said

Port Said

Port Said is a city that lies in north east Egypt extending about 30 km along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal, with an approximate population of 603,787...

. Their fathers are engineers who supervise the construction of the Suez Canal

Suez Canal

The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...

. One day an anti-British rebellion begins in Sudan, led by a Muslim preacher Mahdi

Muhammad Ahmad

Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah was a religious leader of the Samaniyya order in Sudan who, on June 29, 1881, proclaimed himself as the Mahdi or messianic redeemer of the Islamic faith...

. Staś and Nel are captured as hostages by a group of Arabs who hope that they can exchange the children for Fatima, Mahdi's relative that had been arrested by the British at the beginning of the novel.

The children are forced to travel through the Sahara

Sahara

The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...

 Desert to Khartoum

Khartoum

Khartoum is the capital and largest city of Sudan and of Khartoum State. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile flowing north from Lake Victoria, and the Blue Nile flowing west from Ethiopia. The location where the two Niles meet is known as "al-Mogran"...

 where they are to be presented to Mahdi. The journey is difficult and exhausting especially for delicate and vulnerable Nel. Staś, who is a brave and responsible boy, protects his friend from the Muslims' cruelty, even though that means that he is beaten and punished. His plans to escape fail and the children gradually lose their hope.

When the group arrive to Khartoum

Khartoum

Khartoum is the capital and largest city of Sudan and of Khartoum State. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile flowing north from Lake Victoria, and the Blue Nile flowing west from Ethiopia. The location where the two Niles meet is known as "al-Mogran"...

, the Arabs are disappointed by the fact that Mahdi - busy with leading the revolt - ingored their "mission" and turned down their offers. They take their anger and frustration on the children. Staś and Nel, exhausted by heat, thirst, hunger and poor treatment, live for some time in the city ruined by war, poverty and diseases. After a while the children and Arabs in another journey further south, to Fashoda.

One day the group encounters a lion who attacks them. The Arabs (who don't know how to fire a shotgun

Shotgun

A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...

) hand in the weapon to Staś and beg him to shoot the beast. Staś kills the lion, and then shots down the Arabs as well. This is dictated by the despair and fury: the boy knows that the men were not going to set the children free. He also hated the Arabs for abusing them - especially Nel.

Once free, the children set out in an arduous journey through the African desert and jungle in hope that sooner or later they encounter British explorers or British army. The journey is full of dangers and adventures. The children, accompanied by two black slaves (a boy named Kali and a girl named Mea) whom Staś had freed from the Arabs, encounter a number of wonders and perils.

The children stay for a rest on a beautiful hill near a waterfall. They soon find out that a gigantic elephant has been trapped in a gully

Gully

A gully is a landform created by running water, eroding sharply into soil, typically on a hillside. Gullies resemble large ditches or small valleys, but are metres to tens of metres in depth and width...

 near the waterfall. Nel, who loves animals, takes pity on the beast and saves it from starvation by throwing fruits and leaves into the gorge. The girl and the elephant (which is extremely intelligent and benign and whom Nel calls "King" because of its size) quickly become friends. Soon Nel is stricken with malaria

Malaria

Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...

 and is about to die; Staś, mad with grief, decides to go to what he thinks is a Bedouine camp and beg for quinine

Quinine

Quinine is a natural white crystalline alkaloid having antipyretic , antimalarial, analgesic , anti-inflammatory properties and a bitter taste. It is a stereoisomer of quinidine which, unlike quinine, is an anti-arrhythmic...

. When he gets to the camp he find out that it belongs to an old Swiss explorer named Linde. The man had been severely injured by a wild boar and is waiting for death. All his Negro servants had fallen ill to sleeping sickness and die one after another. Although horrified by this gruesome death camp, Staś becomes friend with Linde who generously supplies him with food, weapon, gunpowder and quinine. Thanks to the medicine Nel recovers. Staś, grateful for Line's help, accompanies the Swiss until the man's death. Then, using Linde's gunpowder, he frees King from the trap and they set out in further journey.

With children to farthest journey leaves 12-years old serviceman Linde Nasibu. Group is transmitted on small mountain, where Staś teaches Kali shoot.
Certain day in Nasibu attacks furious gorilla

Gorilla

Gorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies...

. It moves rescue Saba, but there is for small, only King killed gorilla. At the end our heroes they get on for village Wa-Hima.

Tribe seeing Staś's on elephant honor returns him. Kali become king of tribe. Group become on some time here. Staś kills plaguing village leopard

Leopard

The leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its...

.
Certain day Wa-Hima they have invaved by immemoril enemies - Sambur's. Due to assistance Staś's and Nel they win war. Staś carry away Kali kill enemies. Both tribes encourages in order to in agreement vein and they have accepted Christianity.

Staś, Nel and Saba they move to part British estatet over Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

 escorted by King in company several Wa-Hima in it Kali. Kali it has carried away also two witch-doctors: M'Kunje and M'Rua, in fear in order to they did not plot against it. It is finished tragically: both steal food and water and killed disappear by lion or leopard. On luck children they been saved by familair two officers which have due to recovered it released flyers. They inform that Mahdi deceased on infarct of heart. Staś, Nel and Saba they return to Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, but Kali for tribe. King goes to the zoo. Staś and Nel get married when they grow up.

Characters

Although the novel is fictional (apart from the historical events), the plot was inspired by real life events. A Polish boy was indeed kidnapped at the time but has never been found. Nel's character was inspired by the daughter of Sienkiewicz's friend.

• Nel Rawlison - 8-year old English girl. She is very pretty and sweet and although at the beginning of the novel she seems to be timid and shy, later on she shows that she can be courageous and stubborn. She treats Staś with respect and obedience, and often looks up for him.
• Stanisław Tarkowski - 14-year old Polish boy. At the beginning of the novel he seems to be a little bit scornful and bigheaded. However, as the dramatic events develop, it is revealed that Staś is extremely chivalrous and willing to sacrifice his own life in order to save Nel whom he loves like his own sister. The girl is the only creature he will listen to and cares for.
• Kali - African boy, Staś's servant who quickly becomes his friend. He faithfully serves his master and helps him to get going through the dangers of Africa. Kali became popular when a colloquial saying in Poland was coined around the so-called Kali's morality: If somebody takes Kali's cow, it's a bad deed. If Kali takes somebody's cow, it's a good deed.
• Mea - African girl from Dinka tribe, Nel's servant. Shy and quiet, she loves her little mistress and protects her from dangers.
• Chamis - one of kidnapper. Earlier there was serviceman father's Staś's and Nel's.
• Idris - Beduin, one of serviceman's Mahdi. Such was not bad for children. It admired courage Staś's, it take care children have come healthy for Mahdi.
• Gebhr - cruel youngest brother Idris.
• Mrs. Oliver - teacher Nel bite by scorpion
  Scorpion
  Scorpions are predatory arthropod animals of the order Scorpiones within the class Arachnida. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by the pair of grasping claws and the narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back, ending with a venomous stinger...
  
  .
• Linde - Swiss
  Switzerland
  Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
  
   explorer, it has met which Staś. It has given it medicines, drinks, defent food and cartridges. Deceased in result meeting with wild boar.
• Smain - husband of Fatma, relative of Mahdi.
• Caliopuli - Greek
  Greeks
  The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
  
  , worker of Mahdi, it has helped Staś's.
• Nasibu - serviceman of Linde, after his death it has left to farthest journey with children.
• Faru - leader of Sambur's, tribe disturbed with tribe Kali. Contemporary Kali.
• M'Kunje and M'Rua - witch-doctors Wa-Hima hostile to Kali.
• Doctor Clary - relative to Nel.
• Captain Glen - it cooperates with Glen. It has meet Staś and Nel in train.
• Władysław Tarkowski - father Staś's, engineer, widower.
• George Rawlisson - father of Nel, engineer, widower.
• Fatma - relative of Mahdi. It told to abduct Staś and Nel, and mention on it them and children.

Film Adaptation

The first movie version was directed by Władysław Ślesicki in 1973. It lasts about 3 hours, and is composed of 2 parts which were shown separately in theaters. It was released in 1973, but work on it started in 1971. The movie was filmed in Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

, Sudan and Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

, with an international cast and crew.

The 2001 version was directed by Gavin Hood

Gavin Hood

Gavin Hood is a South African filmmaker, screenwriter, producer and actor, best known for writing and directing the Academy Award-winning Foreign Language Film Tsotsi...

 and wrapped up in only about three months. It was filmed in South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, Tunisia

Tunisia

Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...

 and Namibia

Namibia

Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...

. The original director fell ill at the very beginning of filming and his role was taken by Hood. A mini-series were made at the same time this time as well.

Follow-up stories by other authors

In 1961, a Polish writer and screenwriter Marian Brandys

Marian Brandys

Marian Brandys was a Polish writer and screenwriter born in Wiesbaden.-External links:...

 published Śladami Stasia i Nel (Following the path of Staś and Nel) and, in 1962 a related story, Z Panem Biegankiem w Abisynii (In Abyssinia with Mister Bieganek).

Władysław Ślesicki, the director of the 1973 movie released a book, Z Tomkiem i Moniką w pustyni i w puszczy (In Desert and Wilderness with Tomek and Monika).

In 1993, Wojciech Sambory (a pen name

Pen name

A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...

 for a writing team) wrote Powrót do Afryki (A Return to Africa), as a sequel

Sequel

A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...

 to the novel (published by Reporter-Oficyna Wydawnicza, ISBN 83-85189-54-8).

Comic-strip Nowe przygody Stasia i Nel (The New Adventures of Staś and Nel) from Piechur weekly magazine is another sequel to Sienkiewicz's novel. It was published online on Retrostacja in 2005.

Other Polish children books related to Africa

• Alina i Czesław Centkiewiczowie - Tumbo z Przylądka Dobrej Nadziei (Tumbo from Cape of Good Hope)
• Kamil Giżycki
  Kamil Giżycki
  Kamil Giżycki was a Polish writer and traveler.Giżycki studied at the famous Jesuit school Zakład Naukowo-Wychowawczy Ojców Jezuitów w Chyrowie in Khyriv. He graduated from Technical University of Munich. During the First World War he served in Austro-Hungarian army and he was injured and...
  
   - Nil - rzeka wielkiej przygody (Nile - river of great adventure)
• Kamil Giżycki - W pogoni za mwe (In chase too mwe)
• Kamil Giżycki - W puszczach i sawannach Kamerunu (In wilderness and savanna Cameroon)
• Wacław Korabiewicz
  Waclaw Korabiewicz
  Wacław Korabiewicz was a Polish reporter, poet, traveler, collector of ethnographic exhibits.Son of Anthony and Stephanie Korabiewicz Matusewicz. During his childhood he lived in St...
  
   - Kwaheri
• Ferdynand Antoni Ossendowski
  Ferdynand Antoni Ossendowski
  Antoni Ferdynand Ossendowski was a Polish writer, journalist, traveler, globetrotter, explorer and university professor...
  
   - Życie i przygody małpki (Life and adventures monkey)
• Barbara Rybałtowska - Szkoła pod baobabem (School under adansonia)
• Alfred Szklarski
  Alfred Szklarski
  Alfred Szklarski was a Polish author of youth literature. He also published his books as Alfred Bronowski, Fred Garland and Alfred Murawski.-Biography:...
  
   - Tomek w grobowcach Faraonów (Tomek in pharaoh's tombs)
• Alfred Szklarski - Tomek na Czarnym Lądzie (Tomek on the Black Continent)

External links

• Full text of the novel in English (Gutenberg Project)
• The novel in Polish