HOSTAGES: A COUNTER-HISTORY OF COLONIAL PLUNDER

by Taina Tervonen, Sara Hanaburgh (Translator)

Finnish journalist and filmmaker Taina Tervonen, author of The Bone Whisperers, returns to her roots in Senegal to investigate the mystery behind a group of culturally sensitive artifacts that had been captured by the French army in the late 19th century. Among these objects of particular interest to her investigation were a sword and scabbard that belonged to the Senegalese Cheik Oumar Tall, a religious leader who waged a holy war against the French occupiers. This sword was taken from the hands of Tall's nine year-old grandson Abdoulaye, captured along with his sister by a French officer who then had them sent to France. In Hostages, Tervonen has unraveled an historic mystery in which the epic and poignant story of the repatriation of these stolen artifacts is brought to light. Her riveting investigation reveals a tragic case of inhumanity and cultural erasure that will appeal to readers of historical inquiry.

244 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 2, 2026

About the author

Born in Senegal in 1973, Taina Tervonen is a Finnish journalist, filmmaker and author writing in French and currently based in Paris. Self-described as a “teller of true stories”, she is the author of several books of non-fiction that deal with serious social topics. Her work, “The Country of the Disappeared” was the winner of the 2019 Louise Weiss Prize for European Journalism, and her film “Speaking with the Dead” was her first full-length feature documentary and a selection of the Cinéma du Réel festival in 2020. She is the recipient of the Jan Michalski Award in 2022 for this title, originally published as “Les Fossoyeuses” (Editions Marchialy) in 2021, which celebrates a work of excellence by a European writer that concerns human rights. Her most recent work, “Les Otages” will be published by Schaffner Press in 2025.