''Travels in Arabia Deserta'' (1888) is a travel book by

Charles Montagu Doughty Charles Montagu Doughty (19 August 1843 – 20 January 1926) was an English poet, writer, explorer, adventurer and traveller, best known for his two-volume 1888 travel book ''Travels in Arabia Deserta''. Early life and education Son of Rev. Cha ...

(1843–1926), an English poet, writer, and traveller. Doughty had travelled in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europea ...

and spent some time living with the

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and Ar ...

s during the 1870s.

Rory Stewart Roderick James Nugent Stewart (born 3 January 1973) is a British academic, diplomat, author, broadcaster, former soldier and former politician. He is the president of GiveDirectly, a visiting fellow at Yale University's Jackson Institute for ...

describes the book as "a unique chronicle of a piece of history that has been lost". An abridged version was arranged and introduced in 1908 by Edward Garnett, but the original version was reissued with a new introduction by Doughty and an introduction by

T. E. Lawrence Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–1918 ...

in 1921. Lawrence was an avid admirer of Doughty and his writing, as shown in his introduction. Lawrence had been instrumental in having the work reprinted, with his name ensuring that ''Arabia Deserta'' reached a wider audience.

Sources

* Burton, Richard F., "Review of Charles M. Doughty, ''Travels in Arabia Deserta''" (1888), ''Academy'', Vol. XXXIV (28 July), pp. 47–8. * Cousin, John W.
A Short Dictionary of English Literature
'. 1910. * * Hogarth, D.G. ''The Life Of Charles M. Doughty''. 1928 *''Wanderings In Arabia'' arranged & introduced by Edward Garnett. Duckworth & Co 1908. *''Passages From Arabia Deserta'' selected by Edward Garnett. Jonathan Cape 1931.

References

External links

* 1888 non-fiction books British travel books Books about Saudi Arabia English non-fiction books {{travel-book-stub