Persian Pictures: From the Mountains to the Sea (1894; 1928; 2014)

When Gertrude Bell's uncle was appointed Minister in Tehran in 1891, she declared that the great ambition of her life was to visit Persia. Several months later, she did. And so began a lifetime of travel and a lifelong enchantment with what she saw as the romance of the East, which evolved into a deep understanding of its cultures and people. This vivid and impressionistic series of sketches, her first foray into writing, is an evocative meditation that moves between Persia's heroic past and its long decline; the public face of Tehran and the otherworldly 'secret, mysterious life of the East', the lives of its women, its lush, enclosed gardens; from the bustling cities to the lonely wastelands of Khorasan.Gertrude Lowthian Bell, daughter of Sir Hugh Bell and granddaughter of Sir Lowthian Bell, Bt., was born at her grandfather’s residence in Durham on 14th July 1868. In 1885, Gertrude went up to Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, and two years later took a brilliant First in History. In 1891, her uncle SirFrank Lascelles being appointed British Minister in Teheran, she began to learn Persian; and when in the following spring she accompanied Lady Lascelles to Persia, she had the great advantage of being able to speak and read the language of that country. She recorded her experiences and impressions during that visit in her diary, with no thought of giving them to the world; but Mr Bentley, the publisher, was anxious to have them, and her family seconded the proposal, so that she eventually consented, with much diffidence, to publication, stipulating, however, that her name should not appear. So in 1894 the sketches came out as Safar Nameh. Persian Pictures. A Book of Travel. The book was well received at the time, but then forgotten; it was not reprinted until 1928, when Messrs Ernest Benn published it with its shorter title, Persian Pictures, and with a preface by the late Sir Denison Ross. "Are we the same, I wonder, when all our surroundings, association, acquaintances are changed? I conclude that it is not the person who danced with you at Mansfield St who writes to you today from Persia. Yet there are dregs, English sediment at the bottom of my sherbet, and perhaps they flavour it more than I think. I write to you of Persia: I am not me, that is my only excuse. I am only I am merely pouring out for you some of what I have received in the last two months." When Gertrude Bell's uncle was appointed Minister in Tehran in 1891, she declared that the great ambition of her life was to visit Persia. Several months later, she did. And so began a lifetime of travel and a lifelong enchantment with what she saw as the romance of the East, which evolved into a deep understanding of its cultures and people. This vivid and impressionistic series of sketches, her first foray into writing, is an evocative meditation that moves between Persia's heroic past and its long decline; the public face of Tehran and the otherworldly 'secret, mysterious life of the East', the lives of its women, its lush, enclosed gardens; from the bustling cities to the lonely wastelands of Khorasan. Annotation When Gertrude Bell's uncle was appointed Minister in Tehran in 1891, she declared that the great ambition of her life was to visit Persia. Several months later, she did. And so began a lifetime of travel and a lifelong enchantment with what she saw as the romance of the East, which evolved into a deep understanding of its cultures and people. Originally published in 1894, and then reprinted in 2005, this updated edition features a new foreword by acclaimed author Janet Wallach of "Desert Queen: The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell ." The vivid and impressionistic series of sketches within presents an evocative meditation that moves between Persia's heroic past and its long decline. From the vantage of Tehran, Bell explores the otherworldly "secret, mysterious life of the East"--The lives of its women and its lush, enclosed gardens--from the bustling cities to the lonely wastelands of Khorasan When Gertrude Bell’s uncle was appointed Minister in Tehran in 1891, she declared that the great ambition of her life was to visit Persia. Several months later, she did. And so began a lifetime of travel and a lifelong enchantment with what she saw as the romance of the East, which evolved into a deep understanding of its cultures and people. Originally published in 1894, and then reprinted in 2005, this updated edition features a new foreword by acclaimed author Janet Wallach of__Desert Queen: The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell__. The vivid and impressionistic series of sketches within presents an evocative meditation that moves between Persia’s heroic past and its long decline. From the vantage of Tehran, Bell explores the otherworldly “secret, mysterious life of the East”—the lives of its women and its lush, enclosed gardens—from the bustling cities to the lonely wastelands of Khorasan. 'Her remarkable intellectual abilities and masculine demeanour make Persian Pictures, her first publication on an Eastern subject , all the more interesting.' - Geoffrey Nash When Gertrude Bell's uncle was appointed Minister in Tehran in 1891, she declared that the great ambition of her life was to visit Persia. Several months later, she did. And so began a lifetime of travel and a lifelong enchantment with what she saw as the romance of the East, which evolved into a deep understanding of its cultures and people. This vivid and impressionistic series of sketches, her first foray into writing, is an evocative meditation that moves between Persia's heroic past and its long decline; the public face of Tehran and the otherworldly 'secret, mysterious life of the East', the lives of its women, its lush, enclosed gardens; from the bustling cities to the lonely wastelands of Khorasan. "When Gertrude Bell's uncle was appointed Minister in Tehran in 1891, she declared that the great ambition of her life was to visit Persia. Several months later, she did. And so began a lifetime of travel and a lifelong enchantment with what she saw as the romance of the East, which evolved into a lifetime of travel and a lifelong enchantment with what she saw as the romance of the East, which evolved into a deep understanding of its cultures and people. ..."--Back cover PrefaceAn Eastern CityThe Tower of SilenceIn Praise of GardensThe King of MerchantsThe Imam HusseinThe Shadow of DeathDwellers in TentsThree Noble LadiesThe Treasure of the KingSheikh HassanA Persian HostA Stage and a HalfA Bridle- PathTwo PalacesThe Month of FastingRequiescant in PaceThe City of King PrusiasShops and ShopkeepersA Murray of the First CenturyTravelling Companions