The Emir's Book, Waciny Laredj, Marcel Bois

An inspired warlord, a cunning political strategist, a scholar and poet, a Sufi and a Freemason, a declared enemy then friend of France, an apostle of jihad and protector of Damascus Christians, Emir Abdelkader (1808-1883) is one of the most fascinating figures in the Arab world.
Waciny Laredj's novel is the first to be inspired by his tumultuous epic. Supported by extensive and precise historical documentation, it particularly portrays the Emir's relationship with Mgr Antoine Dupuch, the first bishop of Algiers, whom he met in 1841. Struck by the magnanimity and erudition of his interlocutor, Mgr Dupuch became one of his most faithful friends, with whom he endlessly discussed the foundations of Christianity and Islam.
A book driven from beginning to end by the desire to understand the metamorphoses of the Emir, a complex and contrasting man, a fighter for faith and a pioneer of dialogue between religions and cultures.

"Born in Tlemcen (Algeria) in 1954, Waciny Laredj was a professor of modern literature at the University of Algiers until 1994. He currently lives in Paris, where he teaches at the Sorbonne University. He is the author of about ten novels translated into several languages, including, published by Sindbad/Actes Sud, "Almond Blossoms" (2001), "The Balconies of the North Sea" (2003, Algerian Novel Prize), "The Book of the Emir" (2006, Algerian Booksellers' Prize), "The Wings of the Queen" (2009)."