Freya Stark

by Caroline Moorehead

Recounts the life of the British travel writer, geographer, historian, and archaeologist and describes her solitary travels in Persia and Asia Minor

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Biography Memoir, Biography, Travel

144 pages, Paperback

First published February 4, 1986

About the author

Caroline Moorehead is the New York Times bestselling author of Village of Secrets: Defying the Nazis in Vichy France; A Train in Winter: An Extraordinary Story of Women, Friendship, and Resistance in Occupied France; and Human Cargo: A Journey Among Refugees, which was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. An acclaimed biographer, Moorehead has also written for the New York Review of Books, the Guardian, the Times, and the Independent. She lives in London and Italy.

Reviews

[Jackie Jacobsen-Côté · Rating 5 out of 5]

Huge fan of Moorehead, and this book about one of the first Western women to venture into what is now Syria was fascinating.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stark was an adventuring and spirited woman in the early 20th century who went exploring in the Middle East. Sometimes she comes across as a bit too 'empirical' but she was quite a woman and this well-written biography reflects that.

[Beverly · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've decided that while I am a fan of Freya Stark I am not a fan of Caroline Moorehead. Strings of names, dates and places with little story-telling to create a sense of person or even context. Disappointing. Feb. 9 is the day I gave up.

[Harrison Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy reading biography of the author/adventurer Freya Stark. Puts her numerous works into perspective. If you like her works, definitely read this bio.

[bermudianabroad · Rating 3 out of 5]

A strong start but it wound up feeling rather slight. Freya Stark was an interesting woman, mostly admirable for her grit and fortitude in the pursuit of her desire for adventure.

Difficult to disengage her commendable inner and outer resilience with her pro-colonial views. Nevertheless, despite being a product of her time, there is a genuine willingness and attwmpt to explore and engage, to observe listen and understand the people she sets out to document in the middle east.

A very light biography, but very human. Stark with all her strengths and flaws laid out.

[Sarah F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a short autobiography with great insight into her personality.