 First edition | |
| Author | Giles Foden |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Novel |
| Publisher | Faber and Faber |
Publication date | 1998 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print (hardback and paperback) |
| ISBN | 0-571-19564-4 |
| OCLC | 40981851 |
The Last King of Scotland is a novel by journalistGiles Foden, published byFaber and Faber in 1998. Focusing on the rise of Ugandan PresidentIdi Amin and his reign as dictator from 1971 to 1979, the novel, which interweaves fiction and historical fact, is written as the memoir of a fictional Scottish doctor in Amin's employ. Foden's novel received critical acclaim and numerous awards when it was published. In 2006, a looseeponymous film adaptation was released.
Theprotagonist 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, arriving on the day of the1971 Ugandan coup d'état. He relates how he came to be the personal physician and confidant of Amin, thepresident of Uganda during theSecond Republic of Uganda. The novel focuses on Garrigan's relationship and fascination with the president, who soon grows into a brutal and ruthless dictator. Garrigan consciously and repeatedly acts against his better judgment, remaining in Amin's employment until he is far past the point of easy escape physically and morally. Mesmerized by Amin's charm and charisma, he is gradually drawn complicitly into the corruption and brutality of Amin's rule (including his personal participation in the severance of British relations with Uganda, the murder of Kay Amin, the events ofOperation Entebbe and themurder of Dora Bloch, and theUganda-Tanzania War) with fatal results for his friends and colleagues, which Garrigan treats with a mixture of physical disgust; nonchalant, fatalistic acceptance of living under a totalitarian regime; and self-serving denial of culpability.
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 Amin's eight-year reign and 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 magazineBoldtype, Foden said he based parts of Garrigan's character on an associate of Amin's namedBob Astles.[1][2] As a British soldier who worked his way into Amin's favour, Astles was much more "proactive" than Garrigan, according to Foden, and 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 inThe Times by the journalistPaul Vallely, who spoke to Astles in a Ugandan jail after smuggling a message in to Amin's henchman in a Bible.[3]
Another real-life figure who has been mentioned in connection with Garrigan is Scottish doctorWilson Carswell.[4] Amin's personal physician was, in fact, a Ugandan doctor calledPaul D'Arbela.[citation needed]
The title of the book refers to Amin's declaring himself the "King of Scotland".[2] Foden claims that the book is an adaptation ofWilliam Shakespeare'sMacbeth as a third-world dictator.[5]
The book was adapted for the stage bySteve Waters in 2019, opening at theCrucible Theatre, Sheffield;[6]The Observer gave the play three stars out of five, describing it as "morally flawed".[7]