I was eager to learn everything I could about Burton. Along the way, I discovered Fawn Brodie's book on Burton, a carefully-researched work that draws upon a wealth of historical data in depicting Burton's life and accomplishments. With a fast-paced, fascinating writing style that impels the reader forward page after page, Brodie takes us through Burton's own early formative years, his adventures in India, his pilgrimages to the forbidden cities of Mecca and Harar, his exploration for the source of the Nile, his rivalry with fellow explorer and nemesis, John Hanning Speke, his marriage to Isabel, and his profound accomplishments as an intellect and writer. Brodie's is a masterful work that compelled me to reread it many times down through the years. In fact, I read it so many times that it finally fell apart. I was delighted to find it for sale on Amazon, and recently purchased a new copy to replace the tattered old companion.
Those who wish to learn about Burton from a renowned scholar and historian are likely to treasure Brodie's book that has received many splendid reviews.
I was impressed with the interest Brodie took in Lady Burton. If one wants to know the man, then one must look at his wife. Especially in this case, where Isabel Burton does not even seem as though she could have been someone that Richard would have tolerated to hold a conversation with, let alone devote a large chuck of this life to. Isabel was, in fact, the very type of woman Burton, in his writing, claimed to dislike: chaste and superstitious. How could the man who brought the Kama Sutra to the West and sampled life widely (wink wink) have chosen to spend his best years in a sexless marriage? Very odd, indeed.
The Devil Drives is an outstanding book. It is well written and interesting, although one does need to take the mid-century psycho-analyses with a grain of salt. I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to live life to the fullest and needs a role model from whom to learn.
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I was eager to learn everything I could about Burton. Along the way, I discovered Fawn Brodie's book on Burton, a carefully-researched work that draws upon a wealth of historical data in depicting Burton's life and accomplishments. With a fast-paced, fascinating writing style that impels the reader forward page after page, Brodie takes us through Burton's own early formative years, his adventures in India, his pilgrimages to the forbidden cities of Mecca and Harar, his exploration for the source of the Nile, his rivalry with fellow explorer and nemesis, John Hanning Speke, his marriage to Isabel, and his profound accomplishments as an intellect and writer. Brodie's is a masterful work that compelled me to reread it many times down through the years. In fact, I read it so many times that it finally fell apart. I was delighted to find it for sale on Amazon, and recently purchased a new copy to replace the tattered old companion....
