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Three Women of Herat by Veronica Doubleday
I think I share a common conception, or misconception, of Afghanistan, a country that has always seemed distant, alien and mysterious to many of us, which is more likely to…
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A Moroccan Trilogy: Rabat, Marrakesh and Fez by Jerome and Jean Tharaud
I'd been wanting to read A Moroccan Trilogy: Rabat, Marrakesh and Fez by Jerome and Jean Tharaud for quite a while, Morocco is not a country I know very much…
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The Best British Travel Writing of the 21st Century
The Best British Travel Writing of the 21st Century delivers what it promises and more. Like so many other recent publications it has its genesis in the Covid crisis. At…
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The Turkish Embassy Letters
To say these are a collection of the best letter writing of the eighteenth century really would be understating the importance and brilliance of The Turkish Embassy Letters. A collection…
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Letters From Egypt
In 1862, after contracting Tuberculosis, Lucie Duff Gordon’s travelled to Egypt, not just seeking adventure but hoping to improve her dwindling health. Her Letters from Egypt are not just random…
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The Devil and his Advocates
Throughout my studies in Religion, and writing, the Devil has cropped up several times, unsurprisingly. However, with the general worldview towards this figure of the Old and New Testaments being…
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Freemasonry: Initiation by Light
Freemasonry: Initiation by Light by Christopher Earnshaw is the first of four books exploring the origins and mysteries of Freemasonry. Often today, an organisation that is held with good humour…
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Calling the Spirits
I’m sure many of us have seen the image on television or portrayed on radio and comic books of the atypical ‘mystic’ calling out ‘is there anybody there?’, and although…
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It’s the End of the World
Like so many others enduring 2020 I really wasn't sure I wanted to read Adam Roberts' It's the End of the World: But What Are We Really Afraid Of? but…
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Cut Stones & Crossroads
Although originally published in 1984 Cut Stones & Crossroads by Ronald Wright simply remains the pinnacle of any travel writing on Peru. Weaving the country’s rich and diverse culture and…