Ampohipotsy

The great natural amphitheater outside the Malagassy capital of Antananarivo, Ampohipotsy can accommodate a quarter-million spectators, who enjoy watching Queen Ranavalona's horrendous tortures carried out. Throughout his enslavement, Harry Flashman worries about being sent there. He compares it to London's Newgate Yard, site of public hangings, which despite the festal air of the public is tame by comparisons. At Ampohipotsy people are slowly boiled to death, crucified, and flung from cliffs.

Antananarivo

The capital of Madagascar, Antananarivo means "City of a Thousand Towns," and is usually abbreviated to Antan'. It is 140 miles inland from the eastern coastal town of Tamitave. Much of the last third of the novel is set in Antan', particularly in Queen Ranavalona's palaces. The first sight of the capital is breathtaking. A four-story wooden palace dominates a hilltop. Beside it is a shimmering Silver Palace that nearly blinds with light. The plain is...