Writing the End: Wilfred Thesiger, Freya Stark and the 'Arabist tradition'

Author: Cocking, Ben¹

Source: Journeys, Volume 8, Numbers 1-2, Summer/Winter 2007 , pp. 57-76(20)

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Abstract:

Freya Stark's The Southern Gates of Arabia (1936) and Wilfred Thesiger's Arabian Sands (1959) are commonly viewed as representing the last of the 'Arabist tradition'. Consequently, The Southern Gates of Arabia and Arabian Sands provide an opportunity to examine the Arabist tradition at a genealogical point of transition. Taking as its starting point the representational strategies deployed in each book, this paper will examine the extent to which these strategies are characteristic of Arabist travel writing and consider how Stark and Thesiger might be located in the context of the tradition's demise.

Keywords: ARABIST TRADITION; TRAVEL WRITING; FREYA STARK; WILFRED THESIGER; ORIENTALISM

DOI: 10.3167/jys.2007.08010204

Affiliations: 1: Cultural Studies and Journalism, Roehampton University

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