Travels in Arabia Deserta

1933

Brasch DS207 DQ35 1926

London: Jonathan Cape

‘It is the first and indispensable work upon the Arabs of the desert; and if it has not always been referred to, or enough read, that has been because it was excessively rare. Every student of Arabia wants a copy.’ So wrote T. E Lawrence in his introduction to Charles Doughty’s Travels in Arabia Deserta, which first appeared in 1888. Doughty (1843-1926) began his two year travel through the desert by joining a pilgrim caravan in November 1876, adopting the name of Khalil, ‘a Syrian of simple fortune’. Although maintaining his essential Englishness, Doughty admitted that the Bedouin way of life was the best in the world. His Travels remains a classic account of 19th century Arabia.