Segu

'Segu is a garden where cunning grows. Segu is built on treachery'. It is 1797 and the African kingdom of Segu, born of blood and violence, is at the height of its power. Yet Dousika Traore, the king's most trusted advisor, feels nothing but dread. Change is coming. From the East, a new religion, Islam. From the West, the slave trade. These forces will tear his country, his village and the lives of his beloved sons apart, in Maryse Condé's glittering epic of family, betrayal, religious fervour and the turbulent fate of a people. 'Rich and colourful and glorious. It sprawls over continents and centuries to find its way into the reader's heart' Maya Angelou. 'Stunning. it's a starburst' John A. Williams. 'The most significant novel about black Africa published in many a year' The New York Times Book Review.