Letters from Egypt, 1863-65

Lucie Duff Gordon (1821-1869) was a translator and travel writer. Forced to leave England in 1851 due to tuberculosis, she went first to South Africa and then to Egypt. Her letters home were published, with considerable success. She writes with great feeling about the ordinary life of the Egyptians: her interest in and sympathy with them is clear, and her great affection for them led to criticism of the derogatory way in which many western visitors regarded them. But she was also highly critical of the effects of western influence on them, and her comments about the Suez Canal project and new railroads being achieved by forced labour and high taxes were not well received: some of her political opinions were removed from subsequent editions. This volume, first published in 1865, was edited by her mother, also a writer, and covers the years 1862-1865, including her voyage out.