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Edward Parr’s Tamanrasset: Crossroads of the Nomad

Writing about the Maghreb

When I first decided to write my novel Tamanrasset: Crossroads of the Nomad, which is inspired by the amazing body of action-adventure stories written about the French Foreign Legion set in the tumultuous early 20^th century of northern Africa, I knew it would be a challenge. Algeria, which had become a French colony almost unintentionally in 1830, would erupt into a bloody decolonization war that lasted from 1954 to 1962. Morocco, which became a French protectorate in 1912 and endured a violent period of pacification, did not obtain independence until 1956. Tunisia, also a French protectorate since 1881, obtained independence following violent uprisings in 1956. Unsurprisingly, the attitude of native inhabitants towards Europeans was adversely impacted by these events, and losses on both sides left mistrust and anger.

While not all of the adventure stories written in the first half of the 20^th century glorify the colonizers or demonize the native insurgents, many do. Nevertheless, taken in isolation, in the spirit they were written at the time, such stories remain entertaining despite all subsequent events. However, I could not write a new story and simply ignore what we know happened. If I was to tell a story that harkened back to the earlier time period, I would need to do so with a more contemporary understanding. The events at the turn of the 20^th century were complex, multifactorial, with many vested interests wanting different things. It was not for me to judge who was good and who was bad; even if I did, readers would still come to my novel with their own biases, and I would have to let them draw their own conclusions. All I could do was present information that was (for someone who is not a professional, academic historian) basically true. This would allow readers to see and learn something they had perhaps not considered before. I decided I would intentionally not make the Europeans nor the native Arabs-Berbers-Africans-Tuareg-Etc. better or worse than they really were and rely as much as possible on actual facts.

Unfortunately for me, a great deal of the history of early 20th century northern Africa which was recorded contemporaneously was written in French, which I can minimally read, and not many of those materials are accessible online anyway. Moreover, such materials were written from the perspective of the French colonizers who were occupying Algeria and Morocco and represent the worldview of those who saw European colonization as a benefit to Africa. As for the other point of view, well, I don’t read Arabic or speak of the any native languages of northern Africa, so that information – even just finding out the names the tribes – was very difficult. And as much as I enjoyed the French Foreign Legion adventure stories, they are generally vague about regional history, even when reasonably accurate as to the experience of being a Legionnaire. In the end, I used a variety of dependable academic sources to create a chronology of major events for myself and learned more about those events that stood out to me as significant. Ultimately, I choose to focus on a specific swath of time, 1900 to 1908, basically the entire period of time that Abd al-Aziz al Alaoui was the Sultan of Morocco (and acting on his own without a Regent). Events in that time period had a clear arc in my mind and revealed interesting characters that I knew would play into the story that spoke to me from that place.

In the end, sure, I’m not a historian, and I may have oversimplified some things, but I think there’s still a lot there that’s right. And I believe it is, in a meaningful sense, true, whether that’s good or bad.

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts.

TAMANRASSET by Edward Parr

GENRE:  Historical Fiction

BLURB

TAMANRASSET is historical fiction set on the edge of the Sahara as the ancient world begins to fade and great empires collide. Four strangers—a mature Foreign Legionnaire, a Sharif’s wrathful son, an ambitious American archaeologist, and an abandoned Swedish widow—become adrift and isolated, but when their paths intersect, the fragile connections between them tell a story of survival and fate on the edge of the abyss. Blending the sweep of classic adventure with the horror of a great historical calamities, Edward Parr’s TAMANRASSET is a saga about the crossroads where nomads meet.

EXCERPT

The Sun had not yet risen above the ruins of the Mechouar Palace, but at the mosque nearby many Muslim people of the city of Tlemcen were already at their morning prayer. It was a great privilege to be admitted to one of the oldest mosques in Algeria, over eight hundred years old, and an even greater privilege to be allowed to pray before the mihrab there among the great white columns that lined the enormous hall. As the prayers ended, there was a gentle rustling of movement as the faithful rose and exited to the open and airy marble-tiled courtyard of the mosque, still quiet in the twilight of dawn. Isabel retrieved her leather boots and exited a side door beneath the shadow of the towering brick minaret. Covered by her tightly drawn dark brown burnouse, khaki pants, white shirt, and a black hijab, Isabel walked along the great stone wall to the main gate of the palace. The few buildings in the complex that were still usable had been made into offices for the French army, but the pool and gardens of the central courtyard were peaceful and shadowy. She passed an alcove that featured Islamic calligraphy carved into the stucco, and Isabel stopped to read it: “Allah is God, there is no god but He: the King.”

A quiet voice behind her asked: “Madame Pedersen?”

She turned to find a short, elegantly dressed French officer approaching her. His flat-topped white hair was soldierly, but his crisp, tailored uniform, polished boots, and wide waxed mustache displayed a carefully composed appearance.

“Peace be with you,” she said, casting her eyes downward and crossing her arm over her chest as she nodded.

“Peace be with you, Madame. I apologize if I disturbed you; will you come inside?”

“As you wish.”

She followed the French colonel to a charming wood-paneled room overlooking an orchard of citrus trees bearing large green fruit. The colonel sat on a bare wood chair beside a wide wooden table, crossed his legs, and twirled the end of his wide mustache. Isabel stood silently before him in a respectful posture.

“I have the greatest respect for your beliefs, my dear, but it would be helpful to me if you would sit and speak to me informally. Would you be so kind?”

“Of course,” she said and she sat on the chair beside his. Her demeanor now expressed more of her experience and self-assurance, her hijab more a symbol of her confidence than of her humility. The colonel raised an eyebrow in appreciation of her serene face and brilliant blue eyes.

© 2025 by Edward Parr and Edwardian Press (New Orleans, Louisiana)

AUTHOR Bio and Links

Edward (“Ted”) Parr studied playwriting at New York University in the 1980’s, worked with artists Robert Wilson, Anne Bogart, and the Bread and Puppet Theater, and staged his own plays Off-Off-Broadway, including Trask, Mythographia, Jason and Medea, Rising and an original translation of Oedipus Rex before pursuing a lengthy career in the law and public service. He published his Kingdoms Fall trilogy of World War One espionage adventure novels which were collectively awarded Best First Novel and Best Historical Fiction Novel by Literary Classics in 2016. He has always had a strong interest in expanding narrative forms, and in his novel writing, he explores older genres of fiction (like the pulp fiction French Foreign Legion adventures or early espionage fiction) as inspiration to examine historical periods of transformation. His main writing inspirations are Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Bernard Cornwell, Georges Surdez, and Patrick O’Brien.

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