Before the Wind Changed

An authentic and sensitive record, this book chronicles the work of a British woman educationalist in the Sudan in the 1940s, and forms an unrivalled source for the development of girls' education in an African country before the wind of change blew through the continent. As Controller of Girls' Education, Ina Beasley undertook many gruelling tours of inspection, venturing to the remotest parts of the country, and her account provides the modern reader with a wealth of evidence not easily found elsewhere. Her highly readable narrative also gives a more general picture of the Sudan at that time, with fascinating observations on a country and people fondly recalled and a way of life fast disappearing. Starkey has included many excerpts from Ina Beasley's original diaries that illuminate the text, and her extensive and precise annotation and appendices provide essential background information.