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Fact and Fiction in Richard Burton's Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to El-Medinah and Meccah (1855–6)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 September 2009

Jon R. Godsall
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Extract

Not everyone will agree with the view that the Pilgrimage is Burton's “outstanding contribution to travel literature”. What is beyond dispute is the unique place it occupies among his writings. Conscious of the significant part it played in her husband's life and career, Lady Burton placed it at the head of the Memorial edition of his works. “Although he has been the author of some eighty books and pamphlets”, she wrote, “I think that this original edition of three volumes is the one that his name should live by…” Just over thirty years later, it provided the starting-point for the Royal Asiatic Society's first Burton Memorial Lecture.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society , Volume 3 , Issue 3 , November 1993 , pp. 331 - 351
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Asiatic Society 1993

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