8 h 42 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 8 h 42 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
Far from home, familiar rules give way to rival powers—and survival becomes the first concern.
Charles Beadle’s Witch-Doctors takes you into the interior of colonial Africa in the early twentieth century. Travel, tension and dangerous choices shape this adventure. Its world belongs to a tradition of stories about white travellers, officials and traders confronting unfamiliar places and competing claims to power.
The stakes are authority and survival, with belief, ritual and fear central to the book’s framing. This is also a chance to look closely at how colonial-era adventure fiction pictures Africa. Read for the pull of distant places, while keeping the limits of that viewpoint in sight.
What you’ll discover
- A world far away Enter an adventure whose sense of place draws you toward the continent’s interior.
- Rival claims to power Explore a world where authority involves belief as well as the threat of force.
- Ritual and fear Discover how the story’s framing connects ritual with uncertainty, danger and suspense.
- The pressure of survival Follow the tension of dangerous choices made far from familiar rules and surroundings.
- A colonial lens Consider how an early twentieth-century adventure writer presents Africa through a limited colonial viewpoint.
Who will love it
Readers who love adventure stories set in colonial Africa will enjoy its sly humor and sharp characters. It suits those drawn to tribal rituals, stage magic, rival faiths and contests of wit.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Conquest begins with a belief
- The king must answer for rain
- A photograph turns hospitality into danger
- A love charm becomes a trap
- Violence brings conquest but not loyalty
- Playing a god invites captivity
- Rival powers worship their own images
- Reason has its own blind spots
- Fear gives certainty its weapons
Who’s who
- Gerald BirnierAn American anthropology professor who studies African beliefs and uses wit, tricks and nerve to survive among them.
- Zu PfeifferA vain German lieutenant who commands Ingonya, loves a photograph of Lucille, and wants to conquer the Wongolo country.
- BakahenzieThe chief witch-doctor of the Wongolo, a skilled actor who wants to keep his power whoever wears the crown.
- MarufaA wily old wizard who sells charms for ivory and weighs every side before he chooses one.
- BakumaA young woman from a thatched hut who loves the heir and is marked as a sacrificial bride.
- Zalu ZakoThe young chief and heir of the king-god, who wants Bakuma and dreads the celibate godhood waiting for him.
- MYaluA scarred chief who pays tusks for Bakuma and switches sides when he sees a chance to win her.
- MungongoBirnier's loyal servant, who believes his master is the greatest magician in the world.
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Witch-Doctors
by Charles Beadle · 1922
A professor finds his wife's photograph in a German officer's study, and the officer sends him off to die.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
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In short
What would you do if a polite dinner host showed you a photograph of your own wife and called her his fiancée? That is the shock that starts the trouble in Witch-Doctors, a colonial adventure by Charles Beadle.
Witch-Doctors at a glance
- Reading time
- About 5 h4 h fast, 5 h 55 min slow
- Length
- 71,400 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1922by Charles Beadle
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A German officer plans to break a faith
At the Ingonya station, the day opens with a trumpet and a flag. Lieutenant zu Pfeiffer stretches out on his veranda in immaculate white and mixes cognac with his coffee. Every soldier and servant snaps to attention when he speaks.
His sergeant, Schultz, brings a report about the Wongolo country across the lake. It names a witch-doctor called Sakamata, who tried to overthrow the chief witch-doctor Bakahenzie, failed, and lost his rank. Schultz suggests marching in to crush the tribe. Zu Pfeiffer says no. He believes psychology can do more than artillery, and he plans to destroy the idol of the king-god and let the people's own faith fall apart.
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Details
- First published
- 1922
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 5 h 35 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Beadle, Charles. Witch-Doctors. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/witch-doctors.
Beadle, C. (2026). Witch-doctors. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/witch-doctors (Original work published 1922)
Beadle, Charles. Witch-Doctors. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/witch-doctors.
@book{beadle2026witchdoctors,
author = {Beadle, Charles},
title = {Witch-Doctors},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/witch-doctors},
note = {First published 1922}
}
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What is Witch-Doctors by Charles Beadle about?
It is a colonial adventure about an American anthropologist, Gerald Birnier, who gets caught between a German officer's conquest and the priests of a Central African kingdom. He uses wit and magic tricks to survive and to protect a girl marked for sacrifice.
Who is Zu Pfeiffer in Witch-Doctors?
Hermann von Schnitzler und zu Pfeiffer is the German lieutenant who commands the Ingonya station. He is vain, cultured and cruel, and he plans to conquer the Wongolo by destroying their idol. His love for Lucille's photograph drives much of the plot.
Who are Bakahenzie and Marufa?
Bakahenzie is the chief witch-doctor of the Wongolo, a clever performer who keeps the king-god under his control. Marufa is an old wizard who sells charms and weighs which side will win. Both fight for power while the tribe faces invasion.
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