The Last King of Scotland is a 1998 novel by journalist Giles Foden. Focusing on the rise of Ugandan President Idi Amin and his reign as dictator from 1971 to 1979, the novel is written as the memoir of a fictional Scottish doctor in Amin's employ. Giles Foden's novel received critical acclaim and numerous awards when it was published by Faber and Faber in 1998. It interweaves fiction and historical fact. In 2006, a film by the same name was produced based on the novel.
Plot introduction
James McAvoy, Forest Whitaker, Gillian Anderson - The Last King of Scotland (2006) - Based on the events of the brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin's regime as seen by his personal physician during the 1970's.
The protagonist is a fictional character named Nicholas Garrigan, a young Scottish doctor who goes to work in Uganda out of a sense of idealism and adventure. He relates how he came to be the personal physician and confidant of Amin, the president of Uganda from his coup d'état in 1971 until his deposal in 1979. The novel focuses on Garrigan's relationship and fascination with the president, who soon grows into a brutal and ruthless dictator. Garrigan acts repeatedly against his better judgment, remaining in Amin's employment until he is far past the point of easy escape physically or morally. He is gradually drawn into the corruption and paranoia of Amin's rule, including the expulsion of the Asians, with disastrous results for those around him.
Development and inspiration
Drawing on his twenty years of living in Africa and his background as a journalist, Foden researched the events surrounding Amin's rise to power and downfall. He interviewed many of those who watched and participated in the Ugandan ruler's eight-year reign. The author evokes the form of a memoir by inserting fictional newspaper articles and journal entries, along with actual events.
In a 1998 interview with the online magazine Boldtype, Foden said he based parts of Garrigan's character on an associate of Amin named Bob Astles. As a British soldier who worked his way into Amin's favour, Astles was much more "proactive" than Garrigan, according to Foden. He paid the price by spending six and a half years in a Ugandan jail after the fall of his protector. Astles compromised himself by his direct association with Amin's security forces. While Amin was in power, Astles was alternately either favoured or punished; he was imprisoned and tortured on at least one occasion. Foden drew in part on a lengthy interview with Astles in The Times by the journalist Paul Vallely who spoke to Astles in a Ugandan jail after smuggling a message in to Amin's henchman in a Bible. Another real-life figure who has been mentioned in connection with Garrigan is Scottish doctor Wilson Carswell.
Amin's personal physician was, in fact, a Ugandan doctor called Paul D'Arbela.
The title of the book refers to Amin declaring himself as the King of Scotland.
Foden claims that the book is an adaptation of William Shakespeare's Macbeth as a third-world dictator.
Awards and nominations
- 1998 James Tait Black Memorial Prize (for fiction) (shortlist)
- 1998 Whitbread First Novel Award
- 1998 Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize
- 1999 Betty Trask Award
- 1999 Somerset Maugham Award
Editions in print
- 1998: New York: Knopf; Distributed by Random House, hardback, ISBNÂ 978-0-375-40360-6 (English)
- 1998: London: Faber Paperbacks, paperback, ISBNÂ 978-0-571-19486-5 (English)
- 1998: Faber and Faber, paperback, ISBNÂ 0-571-19564-4 (English)
- 1999: Vintage Books USA, paperback, ISBNÂ 0-375-70331-4 (English)
- 1999: Random House USA, hardcover, ISBNÂ 0-375-40360-4 (English)
References
