In Desert and Wilderness

Infobox Book
name = In Desert and Wilderness
title_orig = W pustyni i w puszczy
translator =


image_caption = "In Desert and Wilderness" book cover
author = Henryk Sienkiewicz
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = Poland
language = Polish
series =
genre = Young adult novel
publisher =
release_date = 1912
english_release_date =
media_type =
pages =
isbn =
preceded_by =
followed_by =

:"This is an article about the novel. For a film based on it, see In Desert and Wilderness (film).""In Desert and Wilderness" ( _pl. W pustyni i w puszczy) is a popular novel for young people by Polish author Henryk Sienkiewicz, written in 1912 (it is in fact the author's only novel written for children). It is the story of two kids, Staś Tarkowski and Nel Rawlinson, kidnapped by the rebels during Mahdi's rebellion in Sudan. It was filmed twice, in 1973 and in 2001.

Publication history

In 1961, Marian Brandys published "Śladami Stasia i Nel" ("Following the path of Staś and Nel")and, in 1962 a related "Z Panem Biegankiem w Abisynii" ("In Abyssinia with Mister Bieganek").

Władysław Ślesicki, the director of the 1973 movie released a book, "Z Tomkiem i Moniką w pustyni i w puszczy" ("In Desert and Wilderness with Tomek and Monika").

In 1993, Wojciech Sambory (a pen name for a writing team) wrote "Powrót do Afryki" ("A Return to Africa"), as a sequel to the novel (published by Reporter-Oficyna Wydawnicza, ISBN 83-85189-54-8).

Comic-strip "Nowe przygody Stasia i Nel" ("The New Adventures of Staś and Nel") from [http://kali.xt.pl/ Piechur] weekly magazine is another sequel to Sienkiewicz's novel. It was published online on [http://steampunk.republika.pl/ Retrostacja] in 2005.

Plot and characters

Staś and Nel live in Port Said, where their parents are engineers working on the Suez Canal. In the meantime, an anti-British rebellion begins in Sudan under Muhammad Ahmad. Staś and Nel are captured as hostages, but eventually they escape from the captivity. Helped by some African natives they are eventually rescued by a British expedition and return to their family.

Although the novel is fictional (apart from the historical events), it was inspired by real events. A Polish boy was indeed kidnapped at those times, but has never been found. An inspiration for Nel's character was the daughter of Sienkiewicz's friend.

Heroes:
* Nel Rawlison - 8-year old British girl
* Stanisław Tarkowski-14-year old Polish boy
* Kali - African boy and friend of the two
* Mea - African girl and friend of the two

Interestingly, Kali, although not a main character per se, is likely even more famous than the main heroes, as a popular saying in Poland was coined around the so-called "Kali's morality": "If somebody takes Kali's cow, it's a bad deed. If Kali takes somebody's cow, it's a good deed."

Film Adaptation

The first movie version was directed by Władysław Ślesicki in 1973. It lasts about 3 hours, and is composed of 2 parts which were shown separately in theaters. It was released in 1973, but work on it started in 1971. The movie was filmed in Egypt, Sudan and Bulgaria, with an international cast and crew.

The 2001 version was directed by Gavin Hood and wrapped up in only about three months. It was filmed in South Africa, Tunisia and Namibia. The original director fell ill at the very beginning of filming and his role was taken by Hood.

A mini-series were made at the same time this time as well.

Other Polish children books related to Africa

* Alina i Czesław Centkiewiczowie - Tumbo z Przylądka Dobrej Nadziei
* Kamil Giżycki - Nil - rzeka wielkiej przygody
* Kamil Giżycki - W pogoni za mwe
* Kamil Giżycki - W puszczach i sawannach Kamerunu
* Wacław Korabiewicz - Kwaheri
* Ferdynand Antoni Ossendowski - Życie i przygody małpki
* Barbara Rybałtowska - Szkoła pod baobabem
* Alfred Szklarski - Tomek w grobowcach Faraonów
* Alfred Szklarski - Tomek na Czarnym Lądzie

External links

*imdb title|id=0070894|title=W pustyni i w puszczy (1973)
*imdb title|id=0260522|title=W pustyni i w puszczy (2001)