The British novelist Lola Jaye has a new historical novel out. It is titled “The Attic Child” and was published by Pan MacMillan. The novel retells a true story from the Congo. Dikembe, one of its main characters, is inspired by Ndugu M’Hali (ca. 1865-1877), also known as Kalulu, who was Henry Morton Stanley’s servant. Ndugu tragically died during an expedition on the Lualaba River. Lola Jaye consulted Maud Devos (RMCA & BantUGent) and Koen Bostoen (BantUGent) for access to certain historical language sources and for advice on Bantu language use in her novel.
