1. Many of the characters in Beyond Mombasa have an opinion on why the railway was built. Which characters are they, and what are their explanations?

2. Were the Prestons in love with each other?

3. Did Florence do the right thing by accompanying her husband? What were her alternatives, and how do you think they would have affected her relationship with Ronald?

4. Colonel Patterson has been lauded in history (and in his own book entitled The Man-eaters of Tsavo) as a hero. Was he?

5. How do you explain Preston?omission from the official history of the Uganda Railway?

6. From the outset, there is tension between Patterson and Preston. What is its basis, and could it have been avoided so that a more constructive working relationship could have existed?

7. Did Preston love the Kikuyu girl, Rain?

8. How do you feel about Preston?relationship with Rain, and is it forgivable?

9. What kind of person was Robert Turk? How would you characterise his relationship with ?s Sumitra′?

10. What do you think is the true story of the naming of the ultimate station ?rt Florence?

11. Ronald Preston turned away from trophy hunting because he was horrified by the death of an elephant. Given the times, is this realistic?

12. What kind of person was the decaying lion-hunter Paul Verschoren? How do you explain his death alongside the old man-eater he was hunting?

13. The Prestons lived out their lives in Kenya. Given Florence?determination throughout the building of the railway to go ?me?hen it was finished, do you consider this a capitualtion on her part?

About Frank Coates