Publisher Description

War-time love story set in Abyssinia, Eritrea and the Yemen 1935-1945. Amedeo Guillet is still alive and living in County Meath, Ireland. Khadija is lost.
This is the story of Amedeo Guillet – an Italian calvary officer who was sent out to Abyssinia as part of Mussolini's army to establish and command a troupe of 2,000 Spahis – or Arabic calvary. He met and fell in love with Khadija – a beautiful Ethiopian Muslim. Together they held up the British lorries heaving up the mountain road to Asmara and blew up the important Ponte Aosta. Eventually captured, Amedeo went on the run disguised as an Arab, eventually making it to Yemen, only to be thrown in jail.

This is a rare view of the Second World War from an Italian perpective; particularly valuable are the chapters that tell the story of Italian resistance to the Nazis, and their subsequent withdrawal from Italy in 1943.

There are few stories more cinemagraphic than this – Fascist Italy, his early years in Ethiopia commanding the Cossack-like Spahis, the brutal Abyssinian war waged by the Duce, Italian and British colonial rivalry; Amedeo led the last ever cavalry charge the British army faced (Eritrea 1941 – they were massacred by tanks and sub-machine guns), defeat and guerrilla warfare against the British; then flight, disguised as an Arab, imprisonment in the Yemen and a great love lost as he leaves his beloved Khadija behind to face her future alone and returns to Italy, to his fiancée and a career as a distinguished Italian diplomat and Arabist.

Amedeo is still alive and living in County Meath, Ireland. Sebastian O'Kelly is a journalist for the Mail and Telegraph and has Amedeo's full co-operation in writing this book.

This is a very valuable and absolutely stunning story, beautifully told by O'Kelly.

Notes

A true love story set in Abyssinia between 1935-1945. Provides a rare view of the Second World War from an Italian perspective.

Author Biography

Sebastian O'Kelly is a journalist for the Telegraph and Mail on Sunday. He is an expert on horses. This is his first book.

Review

'Sebastian O'Kelly has found a story so extraordinary and moving that it seems inevitable it will end up as a film. Think The English Patient crossed with Captain Corelli's Mandolin and you will get some idea of the epic sweep, rich detail and sheer romance of Amedeo.' Kathryn Hughes, Mail on Sunday 'Amedeo Guillet was a young aristocratic cavalry officer who would not give up. In 1941 he led what was to be the last cavalry charge of the war against a battalion of British tanks. When the Italians surrendered, he did not. With a motley band of Eritrean and Arab irregulars, including his gun-slinging Ethiopian paramour, Amedeo fought on... The politics and passions of the time, the pity and pathos of war, the love and the loss all rise from the pages.' Ross Leckie, The Times 'Amedeo Guillet is a legendary figure, a model of almost mythical status... His has been a long, adventurous life, filled with heroic deeds and guided by a sense of personal honour and patriotic service... This book has confirmed the details of an extraordinary life and justified the honoured place Amedeo has always occupied in my imagination.' Giovanni Agnelli A riveting biography of an old-style cavalry officer who became one of Italy's most decorated officers. Horses, sabres, women and sheer courage against the backcloth of the hard-fought battle for Abyssinia, an episode of the Second World War which contradicts many assumptions about Italian military performance.' Richard Holmes 'This thrilling story recalls bygone tales of personal gallantry and chivalry between foes, and of a chevalier sans peur et sans reproche.' Lady Mary Soames 'This is a story that has it all: war and extraordinary courage, excitement and danger in exotic locations in a historical context now almost forgotten, an intense and magical love affair and the pain of separation.' Martin Booth, Sunday Times 'This book lays to rest the Italian reputation for military incompetence and lack of valour. Instead, we can only marvel at the bravery of Amedeo... Sebastian O'Kelly is to be congratulated on unearthing a remarkable story in a field where one would scarcely have believed there to be any more to add.' Simon Nixon, Literary Review

Kirkus UK Review

It?s tempting to wonder if, on May 13th 1935, T E Lawrence had decided against riding his Brough Superior to the post office to send a telegraph and a parcel to Henry Williamson, what his role in the world during the Second World War and the post-war years might have been. Without attempting in any way to draw spurious parallels between the story of Lawrence and that of the subject of this book, Amedeo Guillet, there are enough points of reference to make comparison interesting, and to make this book especially attractive to those interested in the untangling and emancipation of Europe's old colonies. Born of an impeccably well-connected Savoyard family, Guillet was involved in the Abyssinian conflict as a headstrong cavalry officer glorying in the nickname comuntar-as-shaitan - the 'devil commander'. He's perhaps best known as the man who led the last cavalry charge in modern warfare, against the British in 1941 - not as a hopeless last-ditch gesture of defiance, but as a brilliantly planned action using available resources against an enemy with significantly superior firepower in order to delay the British advance long enough to allow thousands of Italian troops to retreat. Remaining in the Italian Colony and refusing to surrender after the British victory in 1941, he organized local guerrilla warfare against the new occupying force. The story of this resistance, the relationships with the people and the country formed at the time and the pursuit of Guillet and his eventual capture and imprisonment are central both to this book and to the course of Guillet's life after the war as a diplomat involved with the Arab world in general, and the struggle for self-determination in Eritrea in particular. The true history of Amedeo Guillet reads like the best fiction; one wonders why it's taken this long to be told. (Kirkus UK)

Long Description

War-time love story set in Abyssinia, Eritrea and the Yemen 1935-1945. Amedeo Guillet is still alive and living in County Meath, Ireland. Khadija is lost. This is the story of Amedeo Guillet - an Italian calvary officer who was sent out to Abyssinia as part of Mussolini's army to establish and command a troupe of 2,000 Spahis - or Arabic calvary. He met and fell in love with Khadija - a beautiful Ethiopian Muslim. Together they held up the British lorries heaving up the mountain road to Asmara and blew up the important Ponte Aosta. Eventually captured, Amedeo went on the run disguised as an Arab, eventually making it to Yemen, only to be thrown in jail. This is a rare view of the Second World War from an Italian perpective; particularly valuable are the chapters that tell the story of Italian resistance to the Nazis, and their subsequent withdrawal from Italy in 1943. There are few stories more cinemagraphic than this - Fascist Italy, his early years in Ethiopia commanding the Cossack-like Spahis, the brutal Abyssinian war waged by the Duce, Italian and British colonial rivalry; Amedeo led the last ever cavalry charge the British army faced (Eritrea 1941 - they were massacred by tanks and sub-machine guns), defeat and guerrilla warfare against the British; then flight, disguised as an Arab, imprisonment in the Yemen and a great love lost as he leaves his beloved Khadija behind to face her future alone and returns to Italy, to his fianc

Review Quote

'Sebastian O'Kelly has found a story so extraordinary and moving that it seems inevitable it will end up as a film. Think The English Patient crossed with Captain Corelli's Mandolin and you will get some idea of the epic sweep, rich detail and sheer romance of Amedeo.' Kathryn Hughes, Mail on Sunday 'Amedeo Guillet was a young aristocratic cavalry officer who would not give up. In 1941 he led what was to be the last cavalry charge of the war against a battalion of British tanks. When the Italians surrendered, he did not. With a motley band of Eritrean and Arab irregulars, including his gun-slinging Ethiopian paramour, Amedeo fought on The politics and passions of the time, the pity and pathos of war, the love and the loss all rise from the pages.' Ross Leckie, The Times 'Amedeo Guillet is a legendary figure, a model of almost mythical status His has been a long, adventurous life, filled with heroic deeds and guided by a sense of personal honour and patriotic service This book has confirmed the details of an extraordinary life and justified the honoured place Amedeo has always occupied in my imagination.' Giovanni Agnelli A riveting biography of an old-style cavalry officer who became one of Italy "s most decorated officers. Horses, sabres, women and sheer courage against the backcloth of the hard-fought battle for Abyssinia, an episode of the Second World War which contradicts many assumptions about Italian military performance. " Richard Holmes This thrilling story recalls bygone tales of personal gallantry and chivalry between foes, and of a chevalier sans peur et sans reproche. " Lady Mary Soames This is a story that has it all: war and extraordinary courage, excitement and danger in exotic locations in a historical context now almost forgotten, an intense and magical love affair and the pain of separation.' Martin Booth, Sunday Times 'This book lays to rest the Italian reputation for military incompetence and lack of valour. Instead, we can only marvel at the bravery of Amedeo Sebastian O'Kelly is to be congratulated on unearthing a remarkable story in a field where one would scarcely have believed there to be any more to add.' Simon Nixon, Literary Review

Feature

* Serial rights under negotiation * Massive feature and review coverage * Interviews with Amedeo. * Feature film under option. * Full colour poster. * Book proofs and samplers to be mailed to trade.

Description for Sales People

War-time love story set in Abyssinia, Eritrea and the Yemen 1935-1945. Amedeo Guillet is still alive and living in County Meath, Ireland. Khadija is lost. This is the story of Amedeo Guillet - an Italian calvary officer who was sent out to Abyssinia as part of Mussolini's army to establish and command a troupe of 2,000 Spahis - or Arabic calvary. He met and fell in love with Khadija - a beautiful Ethiopian Muslim. Together they held up the British lorries heaving up the mountain road to Asmara and blew up the important Ponte Aosta. Eventually captured, Amedeo went on the run disguised as an Arab, eventually making it to Yemen, only to be thrown in jail. This is a rare view of the Second World War from an Italian perpective; particularly valuable are the chapters that tell the story of Italian resistance to the Nazis, and their subsequent withdrawal from Italy in 1943. There are few stories more cinemagraphic than this - Fascist Italy, his early years in Ethiopia commanding the Cossack-like Spahis, the brutal Abyssinian war waged by the Duce, Italian and British colonial rivalry; Amedeo led the last ever cavalry charge the British army faced (Eritrea 1941 - they were massacred by tanks and sub-machine guns), defeat and guerrilla warfare against the British; then flight, disguised as an Arab, imprisonment in the Yemen and a great love lost as he leaves his beloved Khadija behind to face her future alone and returns to Italy, to his fianc

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