{"title":"Eland Classics","description":"\u003cp\u003eRediscover forgotten masterpieces with Eland Classics. Showcasing the best travel writing and literary fiction from the 20th century, each book is a portal to another world. Start your journey here.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"three-women-of-herat-book-veronica-doubleday-9781780601977","title":"Three Women of Herat","description":"In 1973, the Afghans still had a King who ruled from a palace in Kabul with his own resident court of musicians when Veronica set up home in Herat.   This Afghan city sat close to the Persian frontier and was fully cognisant of its glorious history as the capital of a once vast Central Asian Empire. Veronica was not a casual traveler but a young musician married to a scholar. She was determined to make use of her time in Afghanistan and break out of the charmed circle of the expatriate academic and make real friendships with local women. The tentative story, the growth in these very different friendships, takes the reader into a rare, deep, and privileged insight into the hidden world of Afghan female society. This is more than enough to make this book remarkable, but it has an afterlife of its own. For a Communist coup, then the Russian invasion, a long guerrilla war of Resistance is followed by Civil War and the rise of the Taliban. Veronica was separated from her friends: feared the worst, sought to assist but was also aware that contact from a westerner could be lethal to them. Then a fragile peace allowed her to meet them again and pick up their stories. It is a most exceptional work, which reads like a novel.     'I was fascinated by this story of ordinary life before the Russian invasion of Afghanistan. The three women are remarkable and unforgettable, and the story of how the author gained their friendship is like a novel.'  Doris Lessing  'Three Women of Herat is a sensitive, knowledgeable and very moving account of an annihilated civilisation.' The Sunday Times  'Her understanding of 'purdah' is certainly the most illuminating by any Western writer for a long time. It is in describing the rituals of the day-to-day life of these women that the author excels, all are minutely depicted with a ravishing eye for detail.'  Ahmed Rashid","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49513403187473,"sku":"GOR012452501","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49742596636945,"sku":"NGR9781780601977","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52888653725969,"sku":"GOR014653377","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":53363001557265,"sku":"NIN9781780601977","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1780601972.jpg?v=1750801408"},{"product_id":"narrow-smile-book-peter-mayne-9781780602097","title":"The Narrow Smile","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49559310172433,"sku":"GOR013623853","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49752960631057,"sku":"NGR9781780602097","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":53679775023377,"sku":"NLS9781780602097","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/178060209X.jpg?v=1751090741"},{"product_id":"moroccan-trilogy-book-jerome-tharaud-9781780601625","title":"A Moroccan Trilogy","description":"From 1917 19, the Tharaud brothers immersed themselves in Morocco while observing the determined imposition of the French Protectorate at first hand. 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This is the first translation of these vivacious works into English, giving access to the majesty, the squalor and above all the liveliness of this extraordinary period of Moroccan history.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49583047115025,"sku":"GOR011957030","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49741315932433,"sku":"NGR9781780601625","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50735877652753,"sku":"GOR012584783","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/178060162X.jpg?v=1750722940"},{"product_id":"hill-of-devi-book-e-m-forster-9781780601601","title":"The Hill of Devi","description":"The novelist E. M. Forster opens the door on life in a remote Maharajah's court in the early twentieth century, a 'record of a vanished civilization.'   Through letters from his time visiting and working there, he introduces us to a 14th century political system in 'the oddest corner of the world outside Alice in Wonderland' where the young Maharajah of Devas, 'certainly a genius and possibly a saint,' led a state centered on spiritual aspirations. The Hill of Devi chronicles Forster's infatuation and exasperation, fascination, and amusement at this idiosyncratic court, leading us with him to its heart and the eight-day festival of Gokul Ashtami, marking the birth of Krishna, where we see His Highness Maharajah Sir Tukoji Rao III dancing before the altar 'like David before the Ark.'  'A classic account of a vanished side of India that has never before been so graphically painted.'  Raymond Mortimer, Sunday Times  'I spent a lot of time laughing, it's so weird, and so very British and very Indian at the same time, and so much of what he writes feels very contemporary. For all these reasons, I really love this book.'  Damon Galgut","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49637385208081,"sku":"GOR012668888","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":50469696143633,"sku":"NGR9781780601601","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53254635749649,"sku":"GOR012140200","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1780601603.jpg?v=1751435194"},{"product_id":"bengal-lancer-book-francis-yeats-brown-9781780602011","title":"Bengal Lancer","description":"Bengal Lancer is a complete one off.  On one hand this book is a love affair with the spiritual traditions of India while on the other it is the memoir of a carefree young cavalry officer in the halcyon days of the British Empire.  Francis Yeats-Brown proves himself exceptionally good company, both funny and self-deprecating. 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