Passionate nomad
Subtitle: the life of Freya Stark
By: Jane Fletcher Geniesse.
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: Random House
Published: 1999
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 402
Subjects: Stark, Freya; Women travelers -- Great Britain -- Biography; Women Orientalists -- Biography; Great Britain -- Biography
Genres: Biography.
Other titles: Life of Freya Stark
Description: "With the publication of The Valley of the Assassins in 1934, a legend was launched. Freya Stark had begun the extraordinary adventures that would glamorize her, though distinctly unglamorous, as the last of the great travelers. Hailed as a classic, the book chronicled her travels in remote and dangerous regions of the Middle East, inspiring Lawrence of Arabia to call the audacious, ambitious Freya "a gallant creature.""--BOOK JACKET.

"Her reputation had begun in 1927, when she was captured by 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 the ancient frankincense routes to locate a lost city."--BOOK JACKET.

"At first a thorn in the side of the British colonial establishment for consorting with "wogs," Freya was later extravagantly admired by officialdom. Her knowledge of Middle Eastern languages and life aided the military and diplomatic corps, for whom she conceived an effective propaganda network during World War II."--BOOK JACKET.

"Throughout her long life - she died in 1993, over a hundred years old, having been knighted at age eighty-two by the Queen - she rejoiced in the attentions of the press and of her audiences. In private she remarked that she put herself in harm's way in order not to fear death."--BOOK JACKET.

"This is a balanced biography, rich in sheikhs, diplomats, nomad warriors and chieftains, generals, would-be lovers, and luminaries, with author Jane Fletcher Geniesse digging beneath the mythology to uncover a complex, quixotic, and controversial woman."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: "Books by Freya Stark": p. [363]-364.
Includes bibliographical references (p. [365]-368) and index.