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Exact textual stateDraft

Guns of Khartum

Part of Guns of Khartum

StateDraft 1Surviving witnesses1TSS catalogue units18
Textual identity is not textual authority. “Catalogue primary/default” selects the default catalogue representation; it does not mean that this wording is automatically Howard’s most authoritative text.

Characters in this exact text

Emmett CorcoranEmmett Corcoran — American ivory hunter and defender of Khartum in Guns of KhartumOn Pagefirst: Opening sentence.Gerard LatourGerard Latour — French renegade and Mahdist agent in Guns of KhartumOn Pagefirst: Ruth names him while explaining her situation; he later appears during the sack of Khartum.GordonGordon — Gordon, defender/leader at Khartum, reported dead in Guns of KhartumMentionedfirst: Zelda tells Corcoran that Gordon is dead.KitchenerKitchener — Kitchener, expected relief commander mentioned in Guns of Khartum Draft 1Mentionedfirst: Ruth says they cannot hold out unless Kitchener gets there with reinforcements.Ruth BrentonRuth Brenton — English woman trapped in Khartum and later Omdurman in Guns of KhartumOn Pagefirst: Introduces herself to Corcoran.The MahdiThe Mahdi — Mahdist leader called Muhammad in Guns of KhartumOn Pagefirst: Referenced throughout and physically confronted by Corcoran in the palace.ZeldaZelda — Somali servant/half-caste in Guns of KhartumOn Pagefirst: Ruth identifies her after Corcoran interrupts the attack.

Surviving manuscript evidence

The records below describe surviving physical typescripts, carbons, manuscript material and documentary catalogue evidence for this exact textual state. TSS numbers identify physical catalogue units; they are not story or draft IDs.

Draft 1 — surviving Howard typescriptHoward typescript
Extent18 pagesCompletenessComplete

Physical extent: Complete 18-page untitled typescript

TSS: 93413–93430

Complete untitled Howard typescript.

Additional documentary notes

  • Untitled Witness: First Cuts describes Draft 1 as untitled. (witness level)

Source: First Cuts: The Veiled Manuscripts v1.4, Guns of Khartum, Editorial Notes p. 301; Draft 1 pp. 303–319

Published in

The Veiled Manuscripts - First Cuts: The Drafts and FragmentsREH Foundation PressJune 2026 (paperback) est. July 27, 2026 (hardcover)↗