Gordon - Martyr and Misfit

The Victorian Age was one of heroes and hero-worship. Charles George Gordon enshrined much of what the Victorians valued, and his heroic and often recounted death in Khartoum at the hands of the Mahdi secured his place in history. However, less is commonly known about his background and the early experiences which shaped his character. The period of his life spent in China is particularly fascinating. He helped the Manchu dunasty to crush the Taiping Rebellion, and earned the soubriquet `Chinese Gordon.' This book deals with the whole of Gordon's life, and helps us to understand his singlemindedness, contrariness, and disdain of all material rewards and allurements, which he had to reconcile with an overriding ambition to influence and succeed...