Passionate Nomad: the Life of Freya Stark by Jane Fletcher Geniesse

Passionate Nomad: the Life of Freya Stark by Jane Fletcher Geniesse

Freya Stark traveler, explorer, Arabist, and woman of letters began the extraordinary adventures that would glamorize her and would catapult her into public life for the next sixty years in 1927. And with the publication of The Valley of the Assassins in 1934, her legend was launched.
Leaving behind a miserable family life, Freya set out, at the age of thirty-four, to explore remote and dangerous regions of the Middle East. She was captured in 1927 by the French military police after penetrating their cordon around the rebellious Druze. She explored the mountainous territory of the mysterious Assassins of Persia, became the first woman to explore Luristan in western Iran, and followed ancient frankincense routes to locate a lost city. Admired by British officialdom, her knowledge of Middle Eastern languages and culture aided the military and diplomatic corps, for whom she conceived an effective propaganda network during WI.
But Stark s indomitable spirit was forged by contradictions, her high-profile wanderings often masking deep insecurities. A child of privilege, she grew up in near poverty; she longed for love, but consistently focused on the wrong men. This is a brilliant and balanced biography filled with sheikhs, diplomats, nomad warriors and chieftains, generals, would be lovers, and luminaries. Author Jane Geniesse digs beneath the mythology to uncover a complex, quixotic, and controversial woman.

JANE FLETCHER GENIESSE, a former reporter for the New York Times, researched American Priestess for seven years. Her biography of Freya Stark, Passionate Nomad, was a New York Times Notable Book and a finalist for the PEN/Martha Albrand Award. She lives in Florida and Washington, D.C.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780394583969
ISBN 10	0394583965
Title	Passionate Nomad: the Life of Freya Stark
Author	Jane Fletcher Geniesse
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Random House USA Inc
Year published	1999-09-28
Number of pages	400
Prizes	Short-listed for Literary Award (First Nonfiction) 2000
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.