Prisoner of Dunes

Eberhardt, Isabelle

ISBN 10: 0720609445 / ISBN 13: 9780720609448

Published by Peter Owen Ltd, 1995

A copy that has been read, remains in good condition. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact. The spine and cover show signs of wear. Pages can include notes and highlighting and show signs of wear, and the copy can include "From the library of" labels or previous owner inscriptions. 100% GUARANTEE! Shipped with delivery confirmation, if youâ re not satisfied with purchase please return item for full refund. Ships via media mail. Seller Inventory # OTV.0720609445.G

Synopsis:

Hitherto unpublished in English, this book describes Eberhardt's wanderings from Marseilles to Tunis and Algeria from 1899 to 1904. She spent much of her short life in North Africa, where she was converted to Islam and learned to speak fluent Arabic. Her eccentric behavior shocked the French colonials. She smoked kif, wore men's clothing, drank alcohol, and was promiscuous with men. She died in a flash-flood at the age of twenty-seven. From the narrative introduction through the cinematic scenes of desert tribes, Eberhardt proves herself a masterfully evocative writer"" - Publishers Weekly.

Reviews: The Swiss-born Eberhardt (1877-1904) did not relish living like other European women of her time, preferring to ride with and write about nomadic desert tribes in North Africa. She dressed like an Arab man, spoke Arabic fluently, practiced Islam and had numerous lovers, including Slimene Ehnni, the Algerian soldier she later wed. She died young, just 27, in a flash flood. As in In the Shadow of Islam, Prisoner of Dunes offers more desert escapades, as well as brief stories of tribespeople. Eberhardt sheds light on the ways of her usually flexible Arab hosts and generally refrains from criticizing them-there's little here about one disapproving Algerian national who stabbed her in 1901. From the narrative introduction through the cinematic scenes of desert tribes, Eberhardt proves herself a masterfully evocative writer. In her meditation on exile and wandering, she clearly evokes both her own moods and the mood of the region with poetic precision-``Here, in this lost, mislaid place, both grandiose and simple, the noises of our tenacious, useless struggles come to die in the great, immutable silence.''

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Bibliographic Details

Title: Prisoner of Dunes
Publisher: Peter Owen Ltd
Publication Date: 1995
Binding: Soft cover
Condition: good