Join us on World Book Night 2026

In 1879 King Leopold II of Belgium launched an ambitious plan to plunder Africa’s resources. The key to the continent, or so he thought, was its elephants – if only he could control them. And so he had four tamed Asian elephants shipped from India to the East African coast, where they were marched inland towards Congo. The aim was to establish a training school for African elephants.

Following the route of this long-forgotten expedition, Roberts travels to Belgium, Iraq, India, Tanzania and Congo digging deep into the records to bring to life a compelling cast of historic characters and modern voices, from ivory dealers and powerful chiefs to birders and Catholic nuns. Vivid and poignant, A Training School for Elephants grapples with our history of animal and human exploitation and reveals an extraordinary – and enduring – tale of colonial greed, ineptitude, hypocrisy and folly.

Sophy Roberts is an award-winning British journalist, and a regular contributor to FT Weekend. Her critically acclaimed first book, The Lost Pianos of Siberia, was a Sunday Times Book of the Year in 2020. This is her second book, and is another unusual quest, threading lost history with modern reportage following an 1879 journey that four elephants from Pune made to Africa’s Great Lakes, it is a reckoning with colonial ambitions gone berserk.

‘A cautionary tale from the early days of the Scramble for Africa, but poignant and scholarly too. Roberts writes beautifully.’
Thomas Pakenham, author of The Scramble for Africa

‘A deeply researched and smoothly-written blend of travel and historical writing filled with empathy, intriguing encounters and memorable characters, not least the elephants themselves.’ Luke Pepera, author of Motherland: A Journey through 500,000 Years of African Culture and Identity

‘Bringing history to life with vivid descriptions of brutal terrain and encounters with living descendants of those involved in this cruel, misguided venture. Roberts tackles difficult, sensitive subjects with careful, exquisite prose. Unputdownable.’
Mary Harper, former BBC Africa editor, UN Advisor and author of Getting Somalia Wrong?