The Valleys of the Assassins by Freya Stark

One thing of which I can’t quite approve, however, is her reason for being in these remote places. Her interactions with the police, the tribesmen and her guides are set down in a matter-of-fact way, although on her travels she seems to have faced a good number of set-backs, dangers and complications. If you believe her calm, composed writing, then she drifted through everything fairly easily and it was all well in the end. Her tongue is always at least partly in her cheek: there’s a lot of wry humour in the books, largely born from her guides’ and hosts’ bafflement at how to treat an independent and well-connected woman.Īlthough she does have a great deal of humanity, Stark does seem rather detached from the emotional intensities of her adventures. She writes beautifully about the landscapes through which she passes, and although she doesn’t go into great detail about the people she meets, her choice of vignettes creates vivid colour. She rides into the wilderness accompanied only by a variety of semi-trustworthy retainers, such as the roguish Keram or the rather aloof Shah Riza. Stark has earned my undying admiration for her cheerful attitude to her expeditions. Since it dealt with Persia and not Arabia, I thought it couldn’t possibly cause offence. This book contains five short pieces detailing her various adventures. Freya Stark moved to Baghdad in her late thirties, learned Arabic and began exploring modern-day Iran and Iraq during the late 1920s and 1930s, making maps and searching for archaeological finds – and bona fide buried treasure. The Valleys of the Assassins is a tale of adventure, archaeology and sheer bloody-minded gumption. Instead I trotted off to Hatchard’s, where I came across this little gem. Lawrence is perceived in the Middle East.

I bought it but then began to worry that perhaps it might cause offence I don’t know how T.E. For the Middle East, the obvious book was Seven Pillars of Wisdom, which is one of the many books I’ve always meant to read. I’ve read The Three Musketeers in Paris and The Leopard beside the pool in Sorrento ( Sicily itself is still on the ‘to-do’ list). If I go abroad I always try to find a book which matches the place I’m going, as far as possible: it’s like a game. When planning my trip to Qatar, it was hard to decide on reading material.

The Valleys of the Assassins by Freya Stark