Ethiopian Reminiscences, Early Days

In 1958, Richard Pankhurst asked Rita Eldon to leave her home in London and move to Ethiopia with him and his mother, suffragette Sylvia Pankhurst. Without the promise of marriage and with relatively little knowledge of the country, Rita said yes, and so began the love affair between the two and their adopted home, Ethiopia. Ethiopian Reminiscences: Early Days, by Rita and Richard Pankhurst, is a joint autobiography in which Rita and Richard reveal never before published stories about growing up with unusual and intriguing parents, their meeting at age 31, and the ease with which they adapted to their new country. Reminiscences provides a unique view of the history of colonialism, travel within Ethiopia, celebrations that range from the grand affairs of royalty to the down-home barbeque of a roasted pig, seemingly ceaseless work, and, most important to Rita and Richard, innumerable deep and life-long friendships. About the Authors: Richard Pankhurst is the founder of the Institute of Ethiopian Studies of Addis Ababa University. He is currently Chair of the Society of Friends of the Institute, as well as a founding member of the AFROMET. He is the author of many articles, books and monographs. Rita Pankhurst studied modern languages and obtained her MA at Oxford University in 1948. Most of Rita s working life has been spent in academic librarianship at Haile Selassie I University, The National Library of Ethiopia, and the Press Library of Chatham House. Rita now undertakes library consultancies and edits academic books and university theses.