The Collector of Worlds : A Novel of Sir Richard Francis Burton – Iliya Troyanov

R300.00

This fictionalized account imagines the life of Sir Richard Francis Burton – a nineteenth-century British colonial officer with a rare ability to assimilate into indigenous cultures. Burton’s obsessive traveling took him from England to British India, Arabia, and on a quest for the source of the Nile River in Africa. He learned more than twenty languages, translated The Arabian Nights and the Kama Sutra, and took part in the pilgrimage to Mecca, in addition to writing several travel books.
This novel tells the story of Burton’s adventures in British West India, his experience on the hajj to Mecca, and his exploration of East Africa. In each section, perspective shifts between Burton and the voices of those men he encounters along the way: his Indian servant tells the stories of his travails with Burton to a scribe; the qadi, the governor, and the shari in Mecca investigate Burton’s hajj; and Sidi Mubarak Bombay, his African guide, shares his story with friends in Zanzibar. The concentric narratives examine the underbelly of colonialism while offering a breathtaking tour of the nineteenth century’s most stunning landscapes.

Hardcover, and good + condition, pages tight and free from any inscription, binding solid, dust wrapper very good.

In stock

SKU: 9780061351938 Category: Title: The Collector of Worlds : A Novel of Sir Richard Francis Burton
Author: Iliya Troyanov
Publisher: Ecco Press
Year: 2009
ISBN10: 0061351938
ISBN13: 9780061351938
Condition: Good
Format: Hardcover
Inventory No: 1139

Description

This fictionalized account imagines the life of Sir Richard Francis Burton – a nineteenth-century British colonial officer with a rare ability to assimilate into indigenous cultures. Burton’s obsessive traveling took him from England to British India, Arabia, and on a quest for the source of the Nile River in Africa. He learned more than twenty languages, translated The Arabian Nights and the Kama Sutra, and took part in the pilgrimage to Mecca, in addition to writing several travel books.
This novel tells the story of Burton’s adventures in British West India, his experience on the hajj to Mecca, and his exploration of East Africa. In each section, perspective shifts between Burton and the voices of those men he encounters along the way: his Indian servant tells the stories of his travails with Burton to a scribe; the qadi, the governor, and the shari in Mecca investigate Burton’s hajj; and Sidi Mubarak Bombay, his African guide, shares his story with friends in Zanzibar. The concentric narratives examine the underbelly of colonialism while offering a breathtaking tour of the nineteenth century’s most stunning landscapes.

Hardcover, and good + condition, pages tight and free from any inscription, binding solid, dust wrapper very good.

Additional information

Weight 0.63 kg
Dimensions 23.4 × 16.3 × 3.99 cm

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