Summary
Summary of The Mahdi's Favorite
The Mahdi's Favorite at a glance
Summary: 8 min to read
- Reading time
- About 8 h6 h 20 min fast, 9 h 30 min slow
- Length
- 114,400 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1887by Emilio Salgari
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
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Key ideas
Key idea 1
A dancer unsettles a promised marriage
Abd-el-Kerim arrives in Machmudiech looking for Notis, the brother of the woman he has promised to marry. Their meeting begins with talk of war, but Fathma's entrance changes the evening. As she performs the bee dance, her eyes keep returning to the Egyptian officer, and he cannot look away.
Notis watches closely. Abd-el-Kerim insists he has never seen her before, yet his agitation suggests that something has shifted. His promise to Elenka suddenly stands against an attraction he barely understands.
Key idea 2
A rescue deepens the secret
Riding toward camp with Notis, Abd-el-Kerim keeps looking back toward the village.
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Key idea 3
Jealousy turns friendship into a feud
Notis discovers Abd-el-Kerim singing beneath Fathma's windows and confronts him about Elenka.
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Key idea 4
A hidden rival prepares his revenge
Notis survives the duel and sees an advantage in being thought dead.
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Key idea 5
Elenka turns love into punishment
Elenka comes to the ruins after learning about Fathma.
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Key idea 6
Another rescue brings another separation
Abd-el-Kerim escapes his cellar by killing a guard and fighting through the passages beneath the ruins.
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Key idea 7
Omar makes loyalty a driving force
Omar, Abd-el-Kerim's faithful slave, deserts the army to find Fathma.
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Key idea 8
Private passions meet a threatened army
O'Donovan brings Fathma into General Hicks's camp, where hunger, thirst and mistrust trouble the army.
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Key idea 9
Love and revenge keep danger moving
What begins with an officer's attraction to a dancer grows into a chain of pursuits across Sudan.
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Who it’s for
Readers who love fast adventure, fierce rivalries and romance set against real history will feel at home here. Deserts, rivers and sword fights await you.
What this book is
What would you risk for a single look? On an evening in September 1883, in a village on the White Nile, an Egyptian officer watches a dancer perform the bee dance and feels his engagement start to slip away. Before the night is over, a lion, a rival and a ride across the plain push him toward a choice he cannot undo.
The Mahdi's Favorite is an adventure novel by Emilio Salgari, the Italian writer who died in 1911. He sets it in the Sudan during the revolt of the Mahdi against Egyptian rule. Real events run alongside an invented tangle of love, jealousy and revenge. You get duels, river chases and lions on the plain.
In this summary
- 1A dancer unsettles a promised marriageFree
- 2A rescue deepens the secret
- 3Jealousy turns friendship into a feud
- 4A hidden rival prepares his revenge
- 5Elenka turns love into punishment
- 6Another rescue brings another separation
- 7Omar makes loyalty a driving force
- 8Private passions meet a threatened army
- 9Love and revenge keep danger moving
A dancer unsettles a promised marriage
The story opens on September 4, 1883, in Machmudiech, a village on the White Nile. Abd-el-Kerim, a tall and proud Egyptian officer, crosses the river looking for Notis, a Greek lieutenant. Notis is the brother of Elenka, and Abd-el-Kerim has promised to marry her. The two meet in a coffeehouse and talk of the war.
Then a young almea named Fathma walks in, and the three officers spring up in admiration. She performs the bee dance, and her great dark eyes keep turning toward Abd-el-Kerim. He stares as if turned to stone, then later clenches his hands against the angareb. When she holds out her hands, he gives her a handful of piastres.
Notis notices every glance. Abd-el-Kerim swears he has never seen the dancer before, then says they must go, as if he could not bear to stay. A vow made over two years of patient courtship can crack in one evening.
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Check yourself
Why does Notis let others believe he died in the duel?
Right. “He and his huge orderly Takir agree to let everyone think he is gone, because a dead man can take revenge more easily.”Not quite. “He and his huge orderly Takir agree to let everyone think he is gone, because a dead man can take revenge more easily.”
What does Omar promise to do after deserting the army?
Right. “He swore to find Fathma and bring her back.”Not quite. “He swore to find Fathma and bring her back.”
How does the novel connect personal passions with the war?
Right. “The rebels and Egyptians fight across the whole of Sudan, yet the story keeps shrinking back to a few faces.”Not quite. “The rebels and Egyptians fight across the whole of Sudan, yet the story keeps shrinking back to a few faces.”
Go deeper: the whole of The Mahdi's Favorite
About 8 h 20 min to read.Start freePaperback, hardcover and large print, printed for you at cost, are on their way.Email me when it is printed
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 114,400 words
- Reading timeAbout 8 h
Questions about The Mahdi's Favorite
What is The Mahdi's Favorite about?
It follows an Egyptian officer, Abd-el-Kerim, who breaks his engagement for a dancer named Fathma during the Sudan revolt of 1883. His rivals chase them across rivers and deserts while the Mahdi's rebels destroy an army.
Who is the Mahdi in the book?
He is Mohammed Ahmed, a religious leader who declared himself the Mahdi and led the rebellion against Egyptian rule in the Sudan. The novel shows him as a real historical figure and as a man who still loves Fathma.
Is The Mahdi's Favorite based on a true story?
The characters of the love story are invented, but the setting is real. The revolt of the Mahdi, the march of General Hicks and the battle of Kasghill in 1883 are history, which Salgari wrote about soon afterward.
Who is Fathma in the novel?
Fathma is a brave and beautiful almea, a trained dancer and singer, who once belonged to the Mahdi's household. She loves Abd-el-Kerim, fires a rifle better than most soldiers, and draws the hatred of Elenka and the love of Notis.
Is The Mahdi's Favorite easy to read?
It is a fast adventure told in short scenes and plain language. Chapters end on a shot, a whistle or a cry, and the characters are easy to tell apart, so the plot moves along with energy.
Cite this edition
Salgari, Emilio. The Mahdi's Favorite. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-mahdis-favorite.
Salgari, E. (2026). The Mahdi's favorite. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-mahdis-favorite (Original work published 1887)
Salgari, Emilio. The Mahdi's Favorite. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-mahdis-favorite.
@book{salgari2026mahdis,
author = {Salgari, Emilio},
title = {The Mahdi's Favorite},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-mahdis-favorite},
note = {First published 1887}
}
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