Charles Masson is the quixotic and wildly colourful subject of this exceptional biography ... This is a jewel of a book. It rescues Masson from history's cutting-room floor and brings him richly, ripely to life ... Brave, dedicated, endlessly curious, Masson deserves his rediscovery -- James McConnachie * Sunday Times *
Only now, with this superb biography, is Masson's tale told in full for the first time. The result, evocatively written, impeccably researched and minutely footnoted, but with the pace and deftly woven plot complexity of a John le Carre novel, is a small masterpiece. It solves most of the mysteries of Masson's story and deserves all the acclaim it will undoubtedly win ... utterly brilliant -- William Dalrymple * Guardian *
Masson was one of the most extraordinary of many extraordinary Europeans roaming between Persia and India in the 19th century ... A brilliant and evocative biography, written with consummate scholarship, great style and wit. Through the study of one man, Richardson illuminates an entire world -- Harry Sidebottom * Daily Telegraph *
Masson's story is brilliantly retold by Edmund Richardson ... A lucid, thrilling and poetic narrative that does justice to the subject. -- Bijan Omrani * Literary Review *
Rarely has a work of non-fiction so brilliantly wrong-footed its readers as Edmund Richardson's Alexandria: The Quest for the Lost City, which expertly subverts expectations, interweaving narrative, history and biography throughout ... A remarkable achievement, and that rare thing, a book guaranteed to change your perspective on the world -- Sebastian Milbank * Tablet *
Immensely enjoyable ... a highly entertaining representation of the world of 19th-century India and Afghanistan, and of the daredevil antics of an adventurer hooked on the past, looking to survive, prosper and make his mark in a world of shifting sands and shadows * BBC History Magazine *
One of the great stories of archaeology, exploration and espionage told in full for the first time - and brought to life with passion, style, scholarship, empathy and anger ... full, extraordinary, heart-breaking ... Edmund Richardson is a new star whose painstaking research and evocative prose has resulted in an utterly brilliant biography. It deserves all the prizes and acclaim it will undoubtedly win. -- William Dalrymple
Richardson is a natural teller of such exuberant stories and the book is full of colourful characters -- A. S. H. Smyth * Spectator *
Impressive. In a string of spirited encounters classicist Edmund Richardson tails the vagabond antiquarian who called himself Charles Masson to 1830s Afghanistan ... Masson has at last found the intrepid biographer he has so long deserved. -- John Keay
Nineteenth-century archaeologist James Lewis (alias Charles Masson), who sought traces of Alexander the Great in Afghanistan, was clearly an excellent storyteller, and in Edmund Richardson he has found the perfect biographer. Richardson, too, is a great storyteller, able to bring history vividly and excitingly to life whilst carefully researching and recording his sources ... A very entertaining book * Newtown Review of Books *
[A] rare combination of serious scholarship and thoroughly entertaining reading ... One of those larger-than-life characters (a famous archaeologist in his day) condemned to become a footnote by dint of imperialist design, he has now found a biography worthy of his achievements. Richardson is not only informed, passionate and witty, he incorporates astute intellectual leaps * Spectrum *
The lost city of Alexandria Beneath the Mountains, once a meeting point of east and west, was discovered in Afghanistan in 1832 by Charles Masson and his story is as fascinating and intriguing as his discovery * Choice Magazine, Hardback Book of the Month *
Richardson's accessible story of what happened to the lost city of Alexandria and Alexander the Great will bathe you in rapture. He is as natural a storyteller as his subject * Australian Women's Weekly *
This book is a most enjoyable read, with its learning worn lightly. It is a valuable contribution to the literature of cultural history, and a must have for those fascinated by the succession of strange and larger than life characters who peopled British India. * Asian Affairs *
A real-life tale of derring-do and colonial ambitions in 1830s Afghanistan * New Zealand Listener, Best Books of 2021 *
Flashman meets Indiana Jones in this rollicking biography of Charles Masson * Daily Telegraph *
