In an Antique Land: History in the Guise of a Traveler's Tale (Vintage Departures)

In an Antique Land is a subversive history in the guise of a traveller's tale. When the author stumbles across a slave narrative in the margins of an ancient text, his curiosity is piqued. What follows is a ten year search, which brings author and slave together across 800 hundred years of colonial history. Bursting with anecdote and exuberant detail, it offers a magical, intimate biography of the private life of a country, Egypt, from the Crusades to Operation Desert Storm. Overview: Once Upon A Time An Indian Writer Named Amitav Ghosh Set Out To Find An Indian Slave, Name Unknown, Who Some Seven Hundred Years Before Had Traveled To The Middle East. The Journey Took Him To A Small Village In Egypt, Where Medieval Customs Coexist With Twentieth-century Desires And Discontents. But Even As Ghosh Sought To Re-create The Life Of His Indian Predecessor, He Found Himself Immersed In Those Of His Modern Egyptian Neighbors. Combining Shrewd Observations With Painstaking Historical Research, Ghosh Serves Up Skeptics And Holy Men, Merchants And Sorcerers. Some Of These Figures Are Real, Some Only Imagined, But All Emerge As Vividly As The Characters In A Great Novel. In An Antique Land Is An Inspired Work That Transcends Genres As Deftly As It Does Eras, Weaving An Entrancing And Intoxicating Spell. Prologue -- Laṭaifa -- Nashawy -- Mangalore -- Going Back -- Epilogue -- Note. Amitav Ghosh. History In A Guise Of A Traveler's Tale--cover. Originally Published: London : Granta, 1992. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 357-393). Once upon a time an Indian writer named Amitav Ghosh set out an Indian slave, name unknown, who some seven hundred years before had traveled to the Middle East. The journey took him to a small village in Egypt, where medieval customs coexist with twentieth-century desires and discontents. But even as Ghosh sought to re-create the life of his Indian predecessor, he found himself immersed in those of his modern Egyptian neighbors. #160;#160;#160;Combining shrewd observations with painstaking historical research, Ghosh serves up skeptics and holy men, merchants and sorcerers. Some of these figures are real, some only imagined, but all#160;emerge as vividly as the characters in a great novel. In an Antique Land is an inspired work that transcends genres as deftly as it does eras, weaving an entrancing and intoxicating spell The author recounts his ten-year investigation into the life a twelfth-century Indian slave who lived in a remote corner of Egypt Author's account of his search for the life stories of a twelfth-century slave and his master