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Freya Stark:

Passionate Nomad
Front Cover
48 Reviews
Pimlico, 1999 - Women explorers - 402 pages
Fluent in at least seven languages and a writer of ravishing prose accounts of her journeys, Freya Stark was one of the great travel writers of the twentieth century. In 1934 her first book,Valley of the Assassins, was hailed as a classic and T.E. Lawrence pronounced Stark 'a gallant creature, a remarkable person'. It marked the start of a dazzling career as a writer, explorer and official diplomat which led Stark to explore ancient trading routes in the Yemeni desert, Crusaders' castles in Syria, uncharted regions of Arabia and Alexander the Great's path through Turkey, often travelling alone through dangerous and uncomfortable territories - once having to be airlifted to safety by the RAF. During the Second World War, she worked for the Foreign Office in Baghdad and Cairo and made an ill-fated tour of America for the Ministry of Information. She married late - and unwisely - but continued to travel and write well into old age, going to the Himalayas aged 89, and lived to be 100, leaving a legacy of over thirty volumes of travel writings, autobiography and letters.Her life reads like an adventure story, imbued with the captivating spirit of the East. Jane Geniesse's ebullient yet touching account of Stark's life uncovers the complexity and charm surrounding someone who was both hugely feted and yet repeatedly disappointed in her private life - a romantic, a complete original.

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Judy recommended the writing of Freya Stark. - Goodreads
Well-written, well-researched and a good read. - Goodreads
She was a splendid writer. - Goodreads
This is biographical writing at its best. - Goodreads

Review: Passionate Nomad: The Life of Freya Stark

User Review  - Roxanne - Goodreads

Perhaps I should have read this biography before naming my daughter Freya? No matter. Freya Stark was a truly fascinating and complex person, and Geniesse does her justice in this excellent and well ... Read full review

Review: Passionate Nomad: The Life of Freya Stark

User Review - Goodreads

Freya Stark, a trailblazing female explorer in the mid-20th century, is the subject of this well researched biography. Freya Stark was raised in Italy and England by separated parents, and lead a ...

All 48 reviews »

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About the author (1999)

Jane Fletcher Geniesse is a former reporter for "The New York Times". Her writing has been featured in "The Washington Post", "New York" magazine, & "Town & Country". She lives in Washington, D.C.

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