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The Love of Strangers: What Six Muslim Students Learned in Jane Austen's London
In July 1815, six Iranian students arrived in London under the escort of their chaperone, Captain Joseph D’Arcy. Their mission was to master the modern sciences behind the rapid rise of Europe. Over the next four years, they lived both the low life and high life of Regency London, from being down and out after their abandonment by D’Arcy to charming their way into society and landing on the gossip pages. The Love of Strangers tells the story of their search for love and learning in Jane Austen’s England.
Drawing on the Persian diary of the student Mirza Salih and the letters of his companions, Nile Green vividly describes how these adaptable Muslim migrants learned to enjoy the opera and take the waters at Bath. But there was more than frivolity to their student years in London. Burdened with acquiring the technology to defend Iran against Russia, they talked their way into the observatories, hospitals, and steam-powered factories that placed England at the forefront of the scientific revolution. All the while, Salih dreamed of becoming the first Muslim to study at Oxford.
The Love of Strangers chronicles the frustration and fellowship of six young men abroad to open a unique window onto the transformative encounter between an Evangelical England and an Islamic Iran at the dawn of the modern age. This is that rarest of books about the Middle East and the West: a story of friendships.
Drawing on the Persian diary of the student Mirza Salih and the letters of his companions, Nile Green vividly describes how these adaptable Muslim migrants learned to enjoy the opera and take the waters at Bath. But there was more than frivolity to their student years in London. Burdened with acquiring the technology to defend Iran against Russia, they talked their way into the observatories, hospitals, and steam-powered factories that placed England at the forefront of the scientific revolution. All the while, Salih dreamed of becoming the first Muslim to study at Oxford.
The Love of Strangers chronicles the frustration and fellowship of six young men abroad to open a unique window onto the transformative encounter between an Evangelical England and an Islamic Iran at the dawn of the modern age. This is that rarest of books about the Middle East and the West: a story of friendships.
432 pages, Hardcover
First published November 24, 2015
27 people are currently reading
420 people want to read
About the author
Nile Green
21 books31 followersNile Green is Professor of History at UCLA, with an interest in the multiple globalizations of Islam and Muslims. He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2018.
In pursuit of the patterns of both global and local Islams, he has traveled and researched in India, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Chinese Central Asia, the Caucasus, Syria, Turkey, Egypt, Israel, Yemen, Oman, Jordan, Morocco, South Africa, Myanmar, Malaysia, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan.
His seven monographs, seven edited books, and over seventy articles have traced Muslim networks that connect South and Central Asia with the Middle East, the Indian Ocean, Africa, Japan, Europe and the United States. His most recent book, The Love of Strangers: What Six Muslim Students Learned in Jane Austen’s London, was selected by the New York Times Book Review as Editors’ Choice. An earlier book, Bombay Islam: The Religious Economy of the West Indian Ocean, received both the Middle East Studies Association’s Albert Hourani Award and the Association for Asian Studies’ Ananda K. Coomaraswamy Award. His other books include Terrains of Exchange: Religious Economies of Global Islam; Sufism: A Global History; and, as co-editor, Global Muslims in the Age of Steam and Print, 1850-1930.
He served for eight years as founding director of the UCLA Program on Central Asia, as well as on various editorial and advisory boards, including the International Journal of Middle East Studies. He has held several visiting positions, such as at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris, and fellowships, including the Luce/ACLS Fellowship in Religion, Journalism & International Affairs. Before moving to the United States from his native Britain, he was Milburn Junior Research Fellow at Oxford University. He holds degrees from London and Cambridge.
In pursuit of the patterns of both global and local Islams, he has traveled and researched in India, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Chinese Central Asia, the Caucasus, Syria, Turkey, Egypt, Israel, Yemen, Oman, Jordan, Morocco, South Africa, Myanmar, Malaysia, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan.
His seven monographs, seven edited books, and over seventy articles have traced Muslim networks that connect South and Central Asia with the Middle East, the Indian Ocean, Africa, Japan, Europe and the United States. His most recent book, The Love of Strangers: What Six Muslim Students Learned in Jane Austen’s London, was selected by the New York Times Book Review as Editors’ Choice. An earlier book, Bombay Islam: The Religious Economy of the West Indian Ocean, received both the Middle East Studies Association’s Albert Hourani Award and the Association for Asian Studies’ Ananda K. Coomaraswamy Award. His other books include Terrains of Exchange: Religious Economies of Global Islam; Sufism: A Global History; and, as co-editor, Global Muslims in the Age of Steam and Print, 1850-1930.
He served for eight years as founding director of the UCLA Program on Central Asia, as well as on various editorial and advisory boards, including the International Journal of Middle East Studies. He has held several visiting positions, such as at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris, and fellowships, including the Luce/ACLS Fellowship in Religion, Journalism & International Affairs. Before moving to the United States from his native Britain, he was Milburn Junior Research Fellow at Oxford University. He holds degrees from London and Cambridge.
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April 8, 2025
برای کسی که به تاریخ و سرگذشت آدمها علاقهمند است، عشق غریبهها چیزی فراتر از یک روایت صرف است؛ کتابیست که با احترام و دقت، زندگی شش جوان ایرانی را دنبال میکند که در روزگاری دور، تصمیم گرفتند پا به دنیای ناشناختهی اروپا بگذارند و برای تحصیل، زندگی، و آرزوهایشان بجنگند.
خواندن این کتاب، تجربهای بود سرشار از احترام؛ احترامی برای آن شش نفر که با تمام بیتجربگی و چالشهایشان، ایستادند، جنگیدند، شکست خوردند، دلتنگ شدند، اما ادامه دادند. نویسنده بدون اغراق، تصویر روشنی از تقابل سنت و مدرنیته، شرق و غرب، و مهمتر از همه، انسان در میانهی این دو قطب را ارائه میدهد.
عشق غریبهها کتابیست برای آنهایی که دوست دارند پا به کفش دیگران بگذارند، آنهایی که میخواهند با دل آدمها در گذشته راه بروند و ببینند عشق، آرزو، و مواجهه با دنیایی تازه چه بر سر آدم میآورد.
خواندن این کتاب، تجربهای بود سرشار از احترام؛ احترامی برای آن شش نفر که با تمام بیتجربگی و چالشهایشان، ایستادند، جنگیدند، شکست خوردند، دلتنگ شدند، اما ادامه دادند. نویسنده بدون اغراق، تصویر روشنی از تقابل سنت و مدرنیته، شرق و غرب، و مهمتر از همه، انسان در میانهی این دو قطب را ارائه میدهد.
عشق غریبهها کتابیست برای آنهایی که دوست دارند پا به کفش دیگران بگذارند، آنهایی که میخواهند با دل آدمها در گذشته راه بروند و ببینند عشق، آرزو، و مواجهه با دنیایی تازه چه بر سر آدم میآورد.
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July 18, 2021بیش از دویست سال پیش، یک شب تابستانی سال ۱۸۱۵، یک کشتی به گریت یارموت در کرانهی شرقی انگلستان رسید. شهری که تفریحگاهی ساحلی بود و با چراغهای رنگی پرنور میدرخشید. شش محصل ایرانی بر عرشه ایستاده بودند و باد نغمه سازها و صدای سرخوشی «اینگیلیسی»ها را به گوششان میرساند.
این شش نفر، نخستین گروه از دانشجویان ایرانی (و نخستین مسلمانان خاورمیانهای) بودند که به انگلستان رفتند تا با «علوم جدید» آشنا شوند و بیش از سه سال آنجا زندگی کردند. میرزا صالح که برای آشنایی با زبان انگلیسی و ترجمه آمده بود، میرزا رضا که آمده بود با توپخانه و فنون نظامی آشنا شود، میرزا جعفر که میخواست شیمی و حاجی بابا که میخواست پزشکی و جراحی بیاموزد، میرزا جعفر حسینی که آمده بود مهندسی فرا بگیرد و محمد علی، قفلسازی که آمده بود آهنگری و فلزکاری بیاموزد و یکی از نخستین شرقیانی شد که یاد گرفت موتور بخار چگونه کار می کند.
این نخستین مواجهه واقعی جوانان ایرانی با زیستن در دنیای غرب بود: اندکی پس از شکست ایران از روسیه و از دست دادن بخشهای وسیعی از خاک ایران و البته اندکی پس از نبرد واترلو و شکست ناپلئون به دست انگلیسها. وضعیتی که «علوم جدید» انگلیسیها را به مساله امنیت ملی ایران بدل میکرد.
جوانان ایرانی به کلیساها و کارخانهها میرفتند اما روزشان تنها با شیشههای رنگی و لولههای توپ شب نمیشد. میرزا صالح از پرسههای شبانه خود مینویسد که ماتشان برد وقتی داخل یک سالن رقص شادیِ زوجهای جوانی را دید که میرقصیدند و تا بامداد ورق بازی میکردند و گپ میزدند.
موقعیت دانشجویان دویست سال پیش ایران در بریتانیا موقعیتی متفاوت با تصور امروزی ما بود. آن زمان فارسی فقط زبان ایرانیان نبود. در هند و پیرامون اقیانوس هند معتبرترین زبان واسط بود و زبان دیوانی کمپانی هند شرقی نیز بود. اگر همانگونه که نخستوزیر بنجامین دیسرائلی اعلام کرد شرق، «پیشه» بود، صدها بریتانیایی دریافته بودند و میدیدند که دانستن زبان فارسی کلید این پیشه خواهد بود.
از این سو، محصلان نه تنها باید زبان انگلیسی میآموختند که به دنبال استقلال مالی هم بودند. جوانانی که در ایران از مرفهترین اقشار اجتماعی هم به شمار میرفتند. آن زمان ایرانیان با مفهوم استعمار آشنا هم نشده بودند و پشت هر دسیسه دست انگلیسیها را نمیدیدند و در بریتانیا هم خبری از اسلامهراسی و ایرانستیزی نبود.
شاید دقیقاً به همین دلیل هم باشد که رویکرد نایل گرین در این کتاب نه شرقشناسانه و نه پسااستعماری است. گرین در «عشق غریبهها» تصویر رایج از بریتانیای زمان جین آستن را به چالش میکشد و آن را از نگاه مسلمانانی میبیند که چه در سطح خرد و چه کلان فقط ناظر و ستاینده پیشرفت بریتانیا نیستند، بلکه در سیر شکلگیری آن حضور و حتی مشارکت دارند.
نایل گرین در این کتاب از خاطرات، نامههای پراکنده، مقالات مطبوعاتی و نقاشیهای این محصلان استفاده کرده اما خاطرات میرزا صالح را به عنوان منبع اصلی در نظر گرفته است. خاطراتی که همچون یک ماشین زمان کاغذی خواننده را به درون ذهن یک ایرانی دویست سال پیش میبرد تا سفر او را به غرب پا به پای او تجربه کند و ببیند.
علاوه بر احیای تجربه زیستن در بریتانیای سده نوزدهم و شنیدن صدای خشخش دامن جین آستن در خیابانهای لندن، برای یک شهروند بریتانیایی که اکنون پایتختش لندن، شهردار خاورمیانهای را هم تجربه کرده و بحث روزش حضور مسلمانان و مساله «چندفرهنگی» است حتماً خواندن این کتاب جذاب است. اما مطالعه این کتاب نه فقط شناخت تازهای از انگلستان دوره جین آستن به مخاطب بریتانیایی ارائه میکند بلکه برای مخاطب ایرانی امروز هم علاوه بر مردمنگاری جذاب و بازگویی پیچیدگیهای انطباقپذیری با جامعهای عمیقاً متفاوت در نخستین رویارویی راستین ایران و غرب، نگاه دوسویهی کاملاً متفاوتی میان شرق و غرب را به تصویر میکشد؛ چه در حوزه علم، چه ایمان، و چه در رابطهای که جنسش «دوستی» و البته کنجکاوی است و نه هراس و ستیز.
اگرچه «عشق غریبهها» کتابی است به راستی خوشخوان و سرگرمکننده که در هر صفحه اطلاعات مخاطب را نسبت به پیشینه خود افزایش میدهد، اما بیش از این، کتابی است لایه لایه، در روایت یک بازشناسی دوسویه، همچون آینههای رویاروی هم...
این شش نفر، نخستین گروه از دانشجویان ایرانی (و نخستین مسلمانان خاورمیانهای) بودند که به انگلستان رفتند تا با «علوم جدید» آشنا شوند و بیش از سه سال آنجا زندگی کردند. میرزا صالح که برای آشنایی با زبان انگلیسی و ترجمه آمده بود، میرزا رضا که آمده بود با توپخانه و فنون نظامی آشنا شود، میرزا جعفر که میخواست شیمی و حاجی بابا که میخواست پزشکی و جراحی بیاموزد، میرزا جعفر حسینی که آمده بود مهندسی فرا بگیرد و محمد علی، قفلسازی که آمده بود آهنگری و فلزکاری بیاموزد و یکی از نخستین شرقیانی شد که یاد گرفت موتور بخار چگونه کار می کند.
این نخستین مواجهه واقعی جوانان ایرانی با زیستن در دنیای غرب بود: اندکی پس از شکست ایران از روسیه و از دست دادن بخشهای وسیعی از خاک ایران و البته اندکی پس از نبرد واترلو و شکست ناپلئون به دست انگلیسها. وضعیتی که «علوم جدید» انگلیسیها را به مساله امنیت ملی ایران بدل میکرد.
جوانان ایرانی به کلیساها و کارخانهها میرفتند اما روزشان تنها با شیشههای رنگی و لولههای توپ شب نمیشد. میرزا صالح از پرسههای شبانه خود مینویسد که ماتشان برد وقتی داخل یک سالن رقص شادیِ زوجهای جوانی را دید که میرقصیدند و تا بامداد ورق بازی میکردند و گپ میزدند.
موقعیت دانشجویان دویست سال پیش ایران در بریتانیا موقعیتی متفاوت با تصور امروزی ما بود. آن زمان فارسی فقط زبان ایرانیان نبود. در هند و پیرامون اقیانوس هند معتبرترین زبان واسط بود و زبان دیوانی کمپانی هند شرقی نیز بود. اگر همانگونه که نخستوزیر بنجامین دیسرائلی اعلام کرد شرق، «پیشه» بود، صدها بریتانیایی دریافته بودند و میدیدند که دانستن زبان فارسی کلید این پیشه خواهد بود.
از این سو، محصلان نه تنها باید زبان انگلیسی میآموختند که به دنبال استقلال مالی هم بودند. جوانانی که در ایران از مرفهترین اقشار اجتماعی هم به شمار میرفتند. آن زمان ایرانیان با مفهوم استعمار آشنا هم نشده بودند و پشت هر دسیسه دست انگلیسیها را نمیدیدند و در بریتانیا هم خبری از اسلامهراسی و ایرانستیزی نبود.
شاید دقیقاً به همین دلیل هم باشد که رویکرد نایل گرین در این کتاب نه شرقشناسانه و نه پسااستعماری است. گرین در «عشق غریبهها» تصویر رایج از بریتانیای زمان جین آستن را به چالش میکشد و آن را از نگاه مسلمانانی میبیند که چه در سطح خرد و چه کلان فقط ناظر و ستاینده پیشرفت بریتانیا نیستند، بلکه در سیر شکلگیری آن حضور و حتی مشارکت دارند.
نایل گرین در این کتاب از خاطرات، نامههای پراکنده، مقالات مطبوعاتی و نقاشیهای این محصلان استفاده کرده اما خاطرات میرزا صالح را به عنوان منبع اصلی در نظر گرفته است. خاطراتی که همچون یک ماشین زمان کاغذی خواننده را به درون ذهن یک ایرانی دویست سال پیش میبرد تا سفر او را به غرب پا به پای او تجربه کند و ببیند.
علاوه بر احیای تجربه زیستن در بریتانیای سده نوزدهم و شنیدن صدای خشخش دامن جین آستن در خیابانهای لندن، برای یک شهروند بریتانیایی که اکنون پایتختش لندن، شهردار خاورمیانهای را هم تجربه کرده و بحث روزش حضور مسلمانان و مساله «چندفرهنگی» است حتماً خواندن این کتاب جذاب است. اما مطالعه این کتاب نه فقط شناخت تازهای از انگلستان دوره جین آستن به مخاطب بریتانیایی ارائه میکند بلکه برای مخاطب ایرانی امروز هم علاوه بر مردمنگاری جذاب و بازگویی پیچیدگیهای انطباقپذیری با جامعهای عمیقاً متفاوت در نخستین رویارویی راستین ایران و غرب، نگاه دوسویهی کاملاً متفاوتی میان شرق و غرب را به تصویر میکشد؛ چه در حوزه علم، چه ایمان، و چه در رابطهای که جنسش «دوستی» و البته کنجکاوی است و نه هراس و ستیز.
اگرچه «عشق غریبهها» کتابی است به راستی خوشخوان و سرگرمکننده که در هر صفحه اطلاعات مخاطب را نسبت به پیشینه خود افزایش میدهد، اما بیش از این، کتابی است لایه لایه، در روایت یک بازشناسی دوسویه، همچون آینههای رویاروی هم...
June 21, 2022
«عشق غریبهها» سرگذشت شش محصل ایرانی در انگلستان زمان جین آستین است. کلیت کتاب بر اساس سفرنامه یکی از این محصلین با نام میرزا صالح شیرازی است.
نویسنده پس از سالها (حدود نُه سال) تحقیق و مطالعه درباره ایران و مشاهدات و سفرهای فراوان به ایران این کتاب را نوشته است.
نویسنده بر آن بوده تا ذهنیت غربیها را نسبت به ایران و اسلام تغییر دهد و این کار را با ارائه مستندات انجام میدهد. او میخواهد تصور رایج درباره علمگریز بودن و مذهبی بودن ایرانیان را به چالش بکشد. او نشان میدهد در زمانی که این دانشجویان ایرانی بهدنبال علم و دانش و نوآوری بودند، مراکز علمی انگلستان (بهخصوص آکسفورد و کمبریج) و اساتید آن دیدگاهی افراطی نسبت به مسیحیت داشته و میراثدار عصر روشنگری نبودند.
نکته مهمی که کتاب روی آن تاکید میکند، این است که یادگیری یکسویه و فقط از جانب این شش محصل نبوده و آنها نکات ارزندهای برای عرضه به طرف مقابل داشتهاند.
بهنظرم کتاب به زبان انگلیسی یک ویرایش جدی میخواهد، چراکه نویسنده در برخی موارد دچار تکرار مکررات شده است. برای مثال، چندینبار و در صفحات و فصول مختلف یادآور میشود که شخصیت حاجیبابایاصفهانی در کتاب جیمز موریه برگرفته از یکی از شش محصل ایرانی این کتاب با نام حاجیبابا است که در رشته پزشکی تحصیل میکند.
علاوهبرآن، چند جا اطلاعات غلط میدهد که بهخوبی توسط مترجم اعلام و اصلاح شده است.
نویسنده پس از سالها (حدود نُه سال) تحقیق و مطالعه درباره ایران و مشاهدات و سفرهای فراوان به ایران این کتاب را نوشته است.
نویسنده بر آن بوده تا ذهنیت غربیها را نسبت به ایران و اسلام تغییر دهد و این کار را با ارائه مستندات انجام میدهد. او میخواهد تصور رایج درباره علمگریز بودن و مذهبی بودن ایرانیان را به چالش بکشد. او نشان میدهد در زمانی که این دانشجویان ایرانی بهدنبال علم و دانش و نوآوری بودند، مراکز علمی انگلستان (بهخصوص آکسفورد و کمبریج) و اساتید آن دیدگاهی افراطی نسبت به مسیحیت داشته و میراثدار عصر روشنگری نبودند.
نکته مهمی که کتاب روی آن تاکید میکند، این است که یادگیری یکسویه و فقط از جانب این شش محصل نبوده و آنها نکات ارزندهای برای عرضه به طرف مقابل داشتهاند.
بهنظرم کتاب به زبان انگلیسی یک ویرایش جدی میخواهد، چراکه نویسنده در برخی موارد دچار تکرار مکررات شده است. برای مثال، چندینبار و در صفحات و فصول مختلف یادآور میشود که شخصیت حاجیبابایاصفهانی در کتاب جیمز موریه برگرفته از یکی از شش محصل ایرانی این کتاب با نام حاجیبابا است که در رشته پزشکی تحصیل میکند.
علاوهبرآن، چند جا اطلاعات غلط میدهد که بهخوبی توسط مترجم اعلام و اصلاح شده است.
February 28, 2020
How about some xenophilia for a change?
In 1815, five Persian students came to England from Iran to study the “new sciences”. Another was already there. They spent about three and a half years in England, learning the English language, English customs and manners, English culture, and some important technology that had not yet reached their homeland. They even learned French and Latin. Lonely and bewildered at first, they slowly got accustomed to life in London. As all but one were from the upper classes, they mingled with similar people in England, because in a way they were diplomatically supported by both Persian royalty and the British Foreign Office. One of them, an intelligent man interested in history and languages as well as in the process of printing, penned a diary over the whole time. A lot of the basic information in Green’s text comes from that document which had not been translated from Farsi before.
These young men became very popular among several sections of the public, in London and in some towns beyond. They, in turn, came to love England despite a few unfortunate events. I liked this book very much because the author wanted to show that intercultural communication is not only possible, but it can lead to long lasting attachments. One student even married an Englishwoman. We have a plethora of books predicting “clash of civilizations”, we have a xenophobic president (and not only us here in America), Muslims are under attack in Europe, Russia, India, and elsewhere. But there are plenty of examples of the opposite feeling in the world. I suppose we are so inured to bad news that we expect academics to cater to our worst expectations.
The most impressive aspect of TLOS is the detailed research done by the author. Faced with a dearth of first hand data, he still tracked down innumerable English inventors, professors, scientists, religious leaders and military officers and described how each of them probably met and influenced the young Persians. He found the addresses where the students lived, the inns where they stayed on travels out of London, the stagecoach companies, and presents a vast array of London life in the era of Jane Austen (who never met the men). Green also talks about the religious currents of the time and emphasizes the religiosity of the English intellectuals then, pointing out that our Persian students could not attend Oxford unless they adhered to the Church of England. While the East India Company ran two training colleges for their employees departing for India, Oxford declined to show any interest in teaching Persian or Hindustani. Their eyes were focused on training clergymen and hope for the conversion of “the heathen”. I might say that the sections on religion drag somewhat, and there's a fair bit of redundancy, but all in all it’s a fascinating book presenting England of those times partially through the eyes of Iranians who came from a country where no printing press yet operated, no newspaper had been seen. Their common humanity, their sympathetic curiosity, their common love of cultural activity, and the friendship between English and Persian is stressed. In this lousy world of 2020, that is a most positive thing.
In 1815, five Persian students came to England from Iran to study the “new sciences”. Another was already there. They spent about three and a half years in England, learning the English language, English customs and manners, English culture, and some important technology that had not yet reached their homeland. They even learned French and Latin. Lonely and bewildered at first, they slowly got accustomed to life in London. As all but one were from the upper classes, they mingled with similar people in England, because in a way they were diplomatically supported by both Persian royalty and the British Foreign Office. One of them, an intelligent man interested in history and languages as well as in the process of printing, penned a diary over the whole time. A lot of the basic information in Green’s text comes from that document which had not been translated from Farsi before.
These young men became very popular among several sections of the public, in London and in some towns beyond. They, in turn, came to love England despite a few unfortunate events. I liked this book very much because the author wanted to show that intercultural communication is not only possible, but it can lead to long lasting attachments. One student even married an Englishwoman. We have a plethora of books predicting “clash of civilizations”, we have a xenophobic president (and not only us here in America), Muslims are under attack in Europe, Russia, India, and elsewhere. But there are plenty of examples of the opposite feeling in the world. I suppose we are so inured to bad news that we expect academics to cater to our worst expectations.
The most impressive aspect of TLOS is the detailed research done by the author. Faced with a dearth of first hand data, he still tracked down innumerable English inventors, professors, scientists, religious leaders and military officers and described how each of them probably met and influenced the young Persians. He found the addresses where the students lived, the inns where they stayed on travels out of London, the stagecoach companies, and presents a vast array of London life in the era of Jane Austen (who never met the men). Green also talks about the religious currents of the time and emphasizes the religiosity of the English intellectuals then, pointing out that our Persian students could not attend Oxford unless they adhered to the Church of England. While the East India Company ran two training colleges for their employees departing for India, Oxford declined to show any interest in teaching Persian or Hindustani. Their eyes were focused on training clergymen and hope for the conversion of “the heathen”. I might say that the sections on religion drag somewhat, and there's a fair bit of redundancy, but all in all it’s a fascinating book presenting England of those times partially through the eyes of Iranians who came from a country where no printing press yet operated, no newspaper had been seen. Their common humanity, their sympathetic curiosity, their common love of cultural activity, and the friendship between English and Persian is stressed. In this lousy world of 2020, that is a most positive thing.
August 14, 2021
کتاب خوبیه. من که متاسفانه با تاریخ بیگانهم تونستم باهاش ارتباط برقرار کنم اما در سه هفتهای که برای خوندن کتاب وقت گذاشتم از لابلای صفحات کتاب صدایی به گوشم میخورد که این کتاب خالی از پدرسوختگی انگلیسی نیست و جاهایی زیادی از کتاب رو علامت زدم که به نظر من تحقیر ایرانیهاست.
در کل بد نبود و شاید بعداً دوباره بهش رجوع کنم.
در کل بد نبود و شاید بعداً دوباره بهش رجوع کنم.
February 26, 2017
Full review at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books
The Love of Strangers is a non-fiction book about students from Iran who spent almost three years in England beginning in 1815. It should be fascinating, but because of the author’s tendency to get bogged down in minor details and the lack of insight into anyone’s personality, it’s weirdly boring. Given the intriguing facts on which the book is based, it’s truly astounding to me that the book is so dull.
A book about six highly motivated young men from Iran travelling through England and interacting with English people from all walks of life should be fascinating. For heaven’s sake, one of them, the metalworker, married an Englishwoman and she went back to Iran with him. Please, someone write that romance novel! Please! For me! I need details, and if there are not factual ones to be found, then I’ll take fiction (properly labeled, of course).
Sadly, the book is deadly dull. It is well researched and meticulous, but boring. The book is packed with facts about Regency England, but I had already learned most of those facts from more entertaining material. If there are gaps in the primary source material, then it’s certainly not the author’s fault that there are gaps in the book, but that doesn’t change my frustration as a reader.
- Carrie S.
The Love of Strangers is a non-fiction book about students from Iran who spent almost three years in England beginning in 1815. It should be fascinating, but because of the author’s tendency to get bogged down in minor details and the lack of insight into anyone’s personality, it’s weirdly boring. Given the intriguing facts on which the book is based, it’s truly astounding to me that the book is so dull.
A book about six highly motivated young men from Iran travelling through England and interacting with English people from all walks of life should be fascinating. For heaven’s sake, one of them, the metalworker, married an Englishwoman and she went back to Iran with him. Please, someone write that romance novel! Please! For me! I need details, and if there are not factual ones to be found, then I’ll take fiction (properly labeled, of course).
Sadly, the book is deadly dull. It is well researched and meticulous, but boring. The book is packed with facts about Regency England, but I had already learned most of those facts from more entertaining material. If there are gaps in the primary source material, then it’s certainly not the author’s fault that there are gaps in the book, but that doesn’t change my frustration as a reader.
- Carrie S.
March 17, 2016
Have you ever been seated at a family dinner next to a distant uncle or cousin and you're delighted to discover that he has similar interests--only to have that relative dominate the conversation with information you already know? And worse, he keeps drinking, he screws up facts, and he keeps repeating himself, and you never get a word in edgewise?
If not, you must have had a much more pleasant family than I. Also, you probably haven't read this yet.
Whenever a book is marketed with the words "Jane Austen's England" or "Jane Austen's London," I have a rule to run fast and far. I'm not smart enough to OBEY my rule, though. Here, a book about six (but mostly one or two) Persian students in Regency England is contorted into a book about Persian students in "Jane Austen's England/London." In fact, Jane Austen was busy dying of Addison's Disease (or whatever the current theory is) at the time, and the only real connections to Austen are so tenuous that it's insulting to Janeites as well as students of the Regency. The England/London these students moved through was that of the Regency. Jane Austen was hardly part of the beau monde (and neither were the students, despite the author's statement they were).
This is what I expected: a view of Regency England from the point of view of Persian bureaucrats, with heavy quoting from the newly discovered diary of Mirza Salih. There is some of that, but it's so interspersed with redundancies and random facts that have nothing to do with the experiences of the students (while I found the distinctions about Dissenters fascinating, I already knew my dissenting sects pretty well).
I could not, for the life of me, figure out how a book to repeat itself so often from chapter to chapter, page to page, paragraph to paragraph, and even LINE TO LINE until I read that this is an amalgamation of several journal articles. Even so, that's not an excuse. An editor should have caught the repetitions, and the author should never have made them (or should have at least proofed the galleys).
Also related to editing: anyone who uses the word "synecdoche" and insists on using "varsity" instead of "university" does not get a pass on sentence fragments or run-on sentences, not even for style. Nor does the author get a pass on using exclamation points (e.g., "More on this later!" p. 162).
[And whoever came up with the academic press equivalent of comic-sans as a chapter subheading font? What the hell is that?]
In any case, there is always the frustration of the book you thought you were going to read and the book you actually read. I read a book that was so full of duplications that I started jotting phrases down on an index card to turn into a drinking game (for example,"Bible Society" or mention of Jane Austen's father attending Oxford=1 drink, "varsity" instead of "university"=2 drinks, "men of the pen"=3 drinks, plus giggling allowed, "Jane Austen's England/London"=4 drinks).
The worst part, though, were the anachronisms. The cover art is ridiculous (Queen Victoria and Napoleon III--really?). Again, an editor should have spotted these. The author should have known better. I'm rarely tempted to toss a book across a room, but the word "tarmac" nearly did it to me.
To back up: the author describes James MacAdam (spelled McAdam on the previous line on page 145--really, the name is spelled differently directly above itself in the same paragraph. In fairness, either spelling could be correct, but it's sloppy). The author also describes men driving on "tarmac," a great improvement on previous roads.
If they *were* driving on tarmac, it really would have been one hell of an improvement. M[a]cAdam was responsible for "Macadamized" roads, which were made up of crushed stone, and which made carriage travel faster and safer. (The first known use of the word "macadamized" was 1824, but don't tell Regency romance novelists this.)
Tarmac is something else. It's based on macadamization, but it has a layer of tar or asphalt on top of it (hence "tarmac," which was patented in 1901 and is short for "tar macadam").
I'm out of time--real life means I'm about to drive on tar-covered raised roads to take my daughter to gymnastics--but essentially, this is a book that is worth reading if you have an interest in Anglo-Persian relations in the early 19th century, and you should, because they're fascinating. And yet...it is really, really repetitive. Given its recent publication (2016), I hope future editions (or electronic editions) address the errors and redundancies.
If not, you must have had a much more pleasant family than I. Also, you probably haven't read this yet.
Whenever a book is marketed with the words "Jane Austen's England" or "Jane Austen's London," I have a rule to run fast and far. I'm not smart enough to OBEY my rule, though. Here, a book about six (but mostly one or two) Persian students in Regency England is contorted into a book about Persian students in "Jane Austen's England/London." In fact, Jane Austen was busy dying of Addison's Disease (or whatever the current theory is) at the time, and the only real connections to Austen are so tenuous that it's insulting to Janeites as well as students of the Regency. The England/London these students moved through was that of the Regency. Jane Austen was hardly part of the beau monde (and neither were the students, despite the author's statement they were).
This is what I expected: a view of Regency England from the point of view of Persian bureaucrats, with heavy quoting from the newly discovered diary of Mirza Salih. There is some of that, but it's so interspersed with redundancies and random facts that have nothing to do with the experiences of the students (while I found the distinctions about Dissenters fascinating, I already knew my dissenting sects pretty well).
I could not, for the life of me, figure out how a book to repeat itself so often from chapter to chapter, page to page, paragraph to paragraph, and even LINE TO LINE until I read that this is an amalgamation of several journal articles. Even so, that's not an excuse. An editor should have caught the repetitions, and the author should never have made them (or should have at least proofed the galleys).
Also related to editing: anyone who uses the word "synecdoche" and insists on using "varsity" instead of "university" does not get a pass on sentence fragments or run-on sentences, not even for style. Nor does the author get a pass on using exclamation points (e.g., "More on this later!" p. 162).
[And whoever came up with the academic press equivalent of comic-sans as a chapter subheading font? What the hell is that?]
In any case, there is always the frustration of the book you thought you were going to read and the book you actually read. I read a book that was so full of duplications that I started jotting phrases down on an index card to turn into a drinking game (for example,"Bible Society" or mention of Jane Austen's father attending Oxford=1 drink, "varsity" instead of "university"=2 drinks, "men of the pen"=3 drinks, plus giggling allowed, "Jane Austen's England/London"=4 drinks).
The worst part, though, were the anachronisms. The cover art is ridiculous (Queen Victoria and Napoleon III--really?). Again, an editor should have spotted these. The author should have known better. I'm rarely tempted to toss a book across a room, but the word "tarmac" nearly did it to me.
To back up: the author describes James MacAdam (spelled McAdam on the previous line on page 145--really, the name is spelled differently directly above itself in the same paragraph. In fairness, either spelling could be correct, but it's sloppy). The author also describes men driving on "tarmac," a great improvement on previous roads.
If they *were* driving on tarmac, it really would have been one hell of an improvement. M[a]cAdam was responsible for "Macadamized" roads, which were made up of crushed stone, and which made carriage travel faster and safer. (The first known use of the word "macadamized" was 1824, but don't tell Regency romance novelists this.)
Tarmac is something else. It's based on macadamization, but it has a layer of tar or asphalt on top of it (hence "tarmac," which was patented in 1901 and is short for "tar macadam").
I'm out of time--real life means I'm about to drive on tar-covered raised roads to take my daughter to gymnastics--but essentially, this is a book that is worth reading if you have an interest in Anglo-Persian relations in the early 19th century, and you should, because they're fascinating. And yet...it is really, really repetitive. Given its recent publication (2016), I hope future editions (or electronic editions) address the errors and redundancies.
May 4, 2016
Nile Green has done historians and fans of this period a great introduction into an event and visit that has hitherto been unnoticed. Green has translated one of the student's diary and excerpted from it and from letters of the other students passages that illuminate an example of friendship between two cultures. Mirza Salih, the diarist, was an astute observer of Regency England, very curious and adaptable, willing to be friends with those he met, and capable of understanding a very different culture. He became entranced with the British life despite difficulties with his British "sponsor" (though to be fair Mirza Salih's ruler did not send money for the students and it is entirely understandable that the sponsor, a man of very moderate means, could not provide over $300,000 for the students' four year stay). Green does more than just recount the trials, delights, and curious encounters of the students, and particularly of Mirza Salih; Green divides the narrative into themes, the last being "Friendship" and by doing so illustrates the area of historical study called "sociability", which is how people of same or different cultures relate to one another through ceremony, letter writing, contacts, etc. Green points out that the two cultures, British and Iranian, met on friendly terms; the contacts produced in several men (and women) a love, appreciation, and respect for the other culture. Green's narrative is an optimistic one for today, as it shows that cultures quite different can learn from one another.
September 28, 2020
1816 yılında 6 tane İranlı genç Jane Austen'in Regency dönemi İngilteresi'ne modern bilimleri öğrenmeye gelirse ne olur?
Bu ve benzeri "karşılaşma" hikayeleri benim favori janrlarımdan birisi olduğu için zevkle okuduğum bir kitap oldu. Ara ara tempo düştü, ama genel olarak merakla okudum.
Yazar çok büyük bir titizlikle öğrencilerin gittiği yerleri ve tanıştığı kişileri tek tek bulmuş. İğneyle kuyu kazmak gibi bir işin altından büyük bir başarıyla kalkmış. Bu ayrıntıcılık kitaba ayrı bir derinlik katmış.
Bu ve benzeri "karşılaşma" hikayeleri benim favori janrlarımdan birisi olduğu için zevkle okuduğum bir kitap oldu. Ara ara tempo düştü, ama genel olarak merakla okudum.
Yazar çok büyük bir titizlikle öğrencilerin gittiği yerleri ve tanıştığı kişileri tek tek bulmuş. İğneyle kuyu kazmak gibi bir işin altından büyük bir başarıyla kalkmış. Bu ayrıntıcılık kitaba ayrı bir derinlik katmış.
April 10, 2021
A good editor would have made this five stars. On average, every third page contains a detailed reference to something already said in a prior chapter. Chapters contain whole paragraphs repeating material from prior chapters. A 20% reduction in words would make this a speedy and engrossing read.
That said, the scientific discoveries unfolding in this time period were fascinating and I spent a great deal of time absorbing the implications of what these young men experienced. The advances in surgery, in paper production, in fabric production, all began during this time period and Nile does a great job of tying in the developments these young men observed to the cultural changes brought about by newspapers and the rising middle class.
That said, the scientific discoveries unfolding in this time period were fascinating and I spent a great deal of time absorbing the implications of what these young men experienced. The advances in surgery, in paper production, in fabric production, all began during this time period and Nile does a great job of tying in the developments these young men observed to the cultural changes brought about by newspapers and the rising middle class.
May 18, 2016
Green's book explores the attempt by six Iranian students to gain an education in "the new sciences" at England's 19th century universities and military schools. When they return to Iran four years later, however, they bring with them more than just medical procedures, astrological discoveries, and a printing press.
Using Jane Austen's England for context (because let's face it, when you think late 18th early 19th century England you immediately think of her characters, the English countryside, and clever conversations), Green illustrates the co-existence of scientific reason and early mechanization with an increasingly passionate Evangelical movement. Far from a modern society free from religious oversight, England's various institutions, including education, were still heavily influenced by Christian doctrine and the growing desire to use England's imperial status to spread Christian teachings.
Perhaps more importantly, Green reveals the ways in which these Muslim students participated in and experienced these traditionally-considered Western developments. Not only did they learn the new sciences from the leading men of the period, but they contributed in the creation of modern knowledge and brought it with them to Iran.
The story of these six men, told from the perspective of Mizra Salih, the lone journal keeper, is occasionally hindered by Green's redundancy, stating over and over again small details previously covered. Moreover, Green could have used a good editor. Many times throughout the book, there are sentence fragments, unnecessary words, and general grammatical confusion. But that blames lies with the editor, not Green.
Ultimately, Green turns to the past to demonstrate how a love of strangers can overcome the seemingly impassable cultural divide, suggesting that the conflicts faced today between the "Christian World" and "Muslim World" are far from standard. There was, is, and always will be opportunities for understanding, cooperation, and friendship between strangers.
Using Jane Austen's England for context (because let's face it, when you think late 18th early 19th century England you immediately think of her characters, the English countryside, and clever conversations), Green illustrates the co-existence of scientific reason and early mechanization with an increasingly passionate Evangelical movement. Far from a modern society free from religious oversight, England's various institutions, including education, were still heavily influenced by Christian doctrine and the growing desire to use England's imperial status to spread Christian teachings.
Perhaps more importantly, Green reveals the ways in which these Muslim students participated in and experienced these traditionally-considered Western developments. Not only did they learn the new sciences from the leading men of the period, but they contributed in the creation of modern knowledge and brought it with them to Iran.
The story of these six men, told from the perspective of Mizra Salih, the lone journal keeper, is occasionally hindered by Green's redundancy, stating over and over again small details previously covered. Moreover, Green could have used a good editor. Many times throughout the book, there are sentence fragments, unnecessary words, and general grammatical confusion. But that blames lies with the editor, not Green.
Ultimately, Green turns to the past to demonstrate how a love of strangers can overcome the seemingly impassable cultural divide, suggesting that the conflicts faced today between the "Christian World" and "Muslim World" are far from standard. There was, is, and always will be opportunities for understanding, cooperation, and friendship between strangers.
May 25, 2022
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کتاب «عشق غریبهها» سرگذشت شش محصل ایرانی است که عباس میرزای نائبالسلطنه برای آشنایی با علوم و فنون جدید،آنان را راهی انگلستان زمان #جین_آستین کرد. شاید برایتان جالب باشد که بدانید در آن روزگار شرقگرایی مُد روز بوده است و دختران اشرافزادهی انگلیسی #حافظ از بر میکردند و برای #ابوالحسن_خان_ایلچی، نخستین سفیر ایران در لندن، غزلیات عاشقانه فارسی میخواندند و در ضیافت شام با چلوِ ایرانی از این سفیر جذاب خارجی پذیرایی میکردند.
یکی از این محصلین #میرزاصالح_شیرازی بود که خاطرات خود از این سفر را نوشت.تندیس کتاب به دست او پس از دو قرن هنوز در پارک روبهروی رویال آلبرت هال در لندن پابرجاست. او و همراهانش در انگلستان با پدیدههایی مثل پست،راهسازی و راهآهن،کشتی بخار و تلسکوپ،نهادهای مدرن قانونگذاری،باورهای دگراندیشانه دینی،مظاهر هنر و معماری قرن نوزدهم و پدیدهی نوظهور روزنامه آشنا شدند.
میرزاصالح نقشی بنیادین در معرفی صنعت چاپ و روزنامه به ایران داشت.او زمانی که در انگلستان بود، کار با دستگاه چاپ را فراگرفت و هنگامی که به ایران بازگشت؛ نخستین روزنامه مستمر ایران با عنوان «اخبار وقایع» را راه انداخت.
حاجی بابا هم که درس طبابت خواند در زمان محمدشاه قاجار، پزشک ارشد دربار شد و همواره ناراحت بود که جیمز موریه در رمان هزلآمیز #ماجراهای_حاجی_بابا_اصفهانی از ��ام او استفاده کرده بود.
میرزا رضا هم یکی دیگر از محصلین بود.او کسی است که مامور تاسیس #دارالفنون نخستین مدرسهی پلی تکنیک ایران شد.
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این کتاب توسط #نایل_گرین، استاد تاریخ اسلام و تاریخ جنوب آسیا در دانشگاه لسآنجلس نوشته شده است.نگاهی به منابع این کتاب و فهرست موسسهها،کارشناسان و صاحبنظرانی که نایل گرین از آنها یاری جسته،گویای گسترهی پژوهش و به راستی دلیلی موجه برای نه سال نگارش این کتاب است.
ترجمهی روان و خواندنی این کتاب توسط «امیرمهدی حقیقت» لذت خواندن این کتاب را برای خوانندهی ایرانی صد چندان میکند که به همین دلیل به عنوان خواننده این کتاب از ایشان سپاسگزارم.
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#عشق_غریبه_ها
#نایل_گرین
#امیرمهدی_حقیقت
#نشر_چشمه
کتاب «عشق غریبهها» سرگذشت شش محصل ایرانی است که عباس میرزای نائبالسلطنه برای آشنایی با علوم و فنون جدید،آنان را راهی انگلستان زمان #جین_آستین کرد. شاید برایتان جالب باشد که بدانید در آن روزگار شرقگرایی مُد روز بوده است و دختران اشرافزادهی انگلیسی #حافظ از بر میکردند و برای #ابوالحسن_خان_ایلچی، نخستین سفیر ایران در لندن، غزلیات عاشقانه فارسی میخواندند و در ضیافت شام با چلوِ ایرانی از این سفیر جذاب خارجی پذیرایی میکردند.
یکی از این محصلین #میرزاصالح_شیرازی بود که خاطرات خود از این سفر را نوشت.تندیس کتاب به دست او پس از دو قرن هنوز در پارک روبهروی رویال آلبرت هال در لندن پابرجاست. او و همراهانش در انگلستان با پدیدههایی مثل پست،راهسازی و راهآهن،کشتی بخار و تلسکوپ،نهادهای مدرن قانونگذاری،باورهای دگراندیشانه دینی،مظاهر هنر و معماری قرن نوزدهم و پدیدهی نوظهور روزنامه آشنا شدند.
میرزاصالح نقشی بنیادین در معرفی صنعت چاپ و روزنامه به ایران داشت.او زمانی که در انگلستان بود، کار با دستگاه چاپ را فراگرفت و هنگامی که به ایران بازگشت؛ نخستین روزنامه مستمر ایران با عنوان «اخبار وقایع» را راه انداخت.
حاجی بابا هم که درس طبابت خواند در زمان محمدشاه قاجار، پزشک ارشد دربار شد و همواره ناراحت بود که جیمز موریه در رمان هزلآمیز #ماجراهای_حاجی_بابا_اصفهانی از ��ام او استفاده کرده بود.
میرزا رضا هم یکی دیگر از محصلین بود.او کسی است که مامور تاسیس #دارالفنون نخستین مدرسهی پلی تکنیک ایران شد.
.
این کتاب توسط #نایل_گرین، استاد تاریخ اسلام و تاریخ جنوب آسیا در دانشگاه لسآنجلس نوشته شده است.نگاهی به منابع این کتاب و فهرست موسسهها،کارشناسان و صاحبنظرانی که نایل گرین از آنها یاری جسته،گویای گسترهی پژوهش و به راستی دلیلی موجه برای نه سال نگارش این کتاب است.
ترجمهی روان و خواندنی این کتاب توسط «امیرمهدی حقیقت» لذت خواندن این کتاب را برای خوانندهی ایرانی صد چندان میکند که به همین دلیل به عنوان خواننده این کتاب از ایشان سپاسگزارم.
.
#عشق_غریبه_ها
#نایل_گرین
#امیرمهدی_حقیقت
#نشر_چشمه
October 14, 2017
A non fiction recount of six Muslim students from modern day Iran who visited London in 1815 to learn more about technology, industry, places of higher learning and English social etiquette in the time of Jane Austen. Their first six months didn't go so well as there were misunderstanding about the funding of their venture but once a sponsor was found the six spread out into the fields of medicine, black smithing, weapons production and military planning, industry and printing.
What I found very interesting was that the universities - Cambridge and Oxford required students to swear an oath to be studying to further the Christian faith ... which prevented the Muslim students from enrolling and that the formation of the Bible Society with the aim of distributing bibles to across the globe to India (at that time) spurred the mass production methods of paper manufacture and printing presses to enable that to happen. At that time there were only hand written books in Iran. Newspapers were a new invention that excited the Muslim students - the relatively quick dissemination of information.
The book also discussed the surprises in store socially for the Muslim students - men and women in mixed sex card playing houses, dances and walking in the park. The lowering of their own alcohol restrictions to enhance their ability to mix socially, the differences between different Christian groups and the efforts they go to to promote their denomination ... all very interesting.
What I found very interesting was that the universities - Cambridge and Oxford required students to swear an oath to be studying to further the Christian faith ... which prevented the Muslim students from enrolling and that the formation of the Bible Society with the aim of distributing bibles to across the globe to India (at that time) spurred the mass production methods of paper manufacture and printing presses to enable that to happen. At that time there were only hand written books in Iran. Newspapers were a new invention that excited the Muslim students - the relatively quick dissemination of information.
The book also discussed the surprises in store socially for the Muslim students - men and women in mixed sex card playing houses, dances and walking in the park. The lowering of their own alcohol restrictions to enhance their ability to mix socially, the differences between different Christian groups and the efforts they go to to promote their denomination ... all very interesting.
November 19, 2020
This book was remarkably repetitive and dull. And by the way, it has nothing whatsoever to do with Austen in case you're wondering. The Austen reference was a bait and switch simply because the subject of the book happens to be in England during Austen's time. I read this brick for my local Austen book club. When we met only three of us showed up, and only two of us had finished the book. Usually, at least ten show up. Could it have been the book that drove them off, maybe? The subject of his historical account is six Muslim students who visited England during Austen's time. They left a "diary" (really a formal account of their visit for their rulers at home) which is incredibly impersonal and vague. So most of the book is made up of claims like "these students did not say who they met in Oxford, but they probably encountered this particular clergyman." Then a lengthy and tedious chapter about doctrinal arguments in Regency England ensues.
March 16, 2022
از این کتاب تمجید های زیادی شنیده بودم، هم فارسی زبان و هم غیر . وقتی کتاب رو شروع کردم متوجه موضوع جذاب این کتاب شدم، ولی هرچی بیشتر جلو میرفتم، بیشتر گیج میشدم. خط داستان رو متوجه نمیشدم، گویا خطی وجود ندارد و صرفا گزارشی است بر وصف سفر این ۶ محصل. بارها تصمیم گرفتم که نصف کاره رها کنم ولی با این وجود سر آخر تمام کردم.
از توصیفات ایران دیروز و الگوهای رفتاری چنین می شد برداشت کرد که گویا نوعی جسارت که گاها بی مبالاتی تلقی میشود در رفتار ما وجود دارد که دومینو سازگاری ما رو تکمیل نشده برهم میزند.
این شناخت تاریخی هم نسبت به انگلیسی ها وجود دارد که عنصری نجیب در واکنش پذیری هستند، شاید این تقارن رفتاری بود که میزبان انگلیسی را راغب به دعوت چندباره مهمان ایرانی اش میکرد.
از توصیفات ایران دیروز و الگوهای رفتاری چنین می شد برداشت کرد که گویا نوعی جسارت که گاها بی مبالاتی تلقی میشود در رفتار ما وجود دارد که دومینو سازگاری ما رو تکمیل نشده برهم میزند.
این شناخت تاریخی هم نسبت به انگلیسی ها وجود دارد که عنصری نجیب در واکنش پذیری هستند، شاید این تقارن رفتاری بود که میزبان انگلیسی را راغب به دعوت چندباره مهمان ایرانی اش میکرد.
September 7, 2024
کتاب سرگذشت شش محصل ایرانی ۲۰۰ سال پیش را گزارش میدهد.
دقیقا گزارش تاریخی است با مستندات و ۹ سال تحقیق نویسنده.
خط روایت اتفاقات را پسندیدم
بر خلاف بعضی کتب سفرنامه و روایت که دچار پرش زمانی میشود عشق غریبه ها ریتم خوبی داشت.
میانه های کتاب کمی خسته کننده میشود
این میزان پرداختن به مسیحیت و توضیح و تکرار نیازی نبود.
در حالت کلی اگر علاقه به تاریخ و خواندن جزئیات از اتفاقات این شش محصل در سرزمین عجایب دارید ، کتاب خوبی است.
البته مترجم هم خیلی خوب از پس این کار برامده .
دقیقا گزارش تاریخی است با مستندات و ۹ سال تحقیق نویسنده.
خط روایت اتفاقات را پسندیدم
بر خلاف بعضی کتب سفرنامه و روایت که دچار پرش زمانی میشود عشق غریبه ها ریتم خوبی داشت.
میانه های کتاب کمی خسته کننده میشود
این میزان پرداختن به مسیحیت و توضیح و تکرار نیازی نبود.
در حالت کلی اگر علاقه به تاریخ و خواندن جزئیات از اتفاقات این شش محصل در سرزمین عجایب دارید ، کتاب خوبی است.
البته مترجم هم خیلی خوب از پس این کار برامده .
July 14, 2025
دانستن اینکه تلاش برای پیوستن به قافله جهانی علم و فن از دوره پهلوی شروع نشده بود و دیدن سختی هایی که این 6 نفر در آن دور و زمان کشیدند تا گوشه ای از دانش جهان را به ایران بیاورند چیز خوبی بود.
تنها نکته منفی کتاب بنظرم کش دادن و داستان سرایی در پاره ای از موارد بود که آنهم چون نوشته برای مخاطب انگلیسی تهیه شده بود قابل درک است.
شاید اگر اینطور بگویم بهتر باشد: ایکاش این کتاب توسط یک ایرانی و برای مخاطب ایرانی نوشته می شد که چه بسا روشنگری بیشتری داشت.
تنها نکته منفی کتاب بنظرم کش دادن و داستان سرایی در پاره ای از موارد بود که آنهم چون نوشته برای مخاطب انگلیسی تهیه شده بود قابل درک است.
شاید اگر اینطور بگویم بهتر باشد: ایکاش این کتاب توسط یک ایرانی و برای مخاطب ایرانی نوشته می شد که چه بسا روشنگری بیشتری داشت.
August 1, 2021
This was a very interesting book that did not need the framing of Jane Austin's England. These comparisons were actually a bit distracting. The story of the six students was engaging enough on its own. Their interactions with the English people and their world were illuminating.
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