In The Shadow of Islam

By Isabelle Eberhardt

An extraordinary evocation of the desert and its people by a woman who dressed as a man in order to travel alone and unimpeded throughout North Africa In 1897 Isabelle Eberhardt, at the age of 20, left an already unconventional life in Geneva for the Morroccan frontier. Gripped by spiritual restlessness and the desire to break free from the confinements of her society she traveled into the desert, and into the heart of Islam. Her experiences inspired a profound self-examination, anda book that today isregarded as one of the true classics of travel writing. In the current political climate, it is also a book uncannily current in its treatment of the culture of Islam in North Africa. One of the most astonishing travel documents of all time, this book is also a feminist classic in its own right.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Peter Owen Publishers
• Release date: Jan 6, 2014
• ISBN: 9780720616699

Reviews for In The Shadow of Islam

[violetbramble · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Isabelle Eberhardt was born in Geneva, Switzerland in 1877. She was the illegitimate daughter of a Swiss aristocrat. For most of her life she dressed as a boy/ young man because it gave her more freedom. In 1897 she and her mother traveled to North Africa and converted to Islam. After the deaths of everyone in her family (except a married brother) she lived in North Africa, posing as a young, male Tunisian student from 1899 onward. She earned a living writing books and articles for French newspapers. This books chronicles her travels in the Sahara, mostly in Morocco and Algeria, in 1904. Her writing is very descriptive - about the people, the places, the rooms, religion and esp, the desert. She seems to have loved describing the play of light, at various times of day, on the desert sands. I was surprised by her many prejudices. I expected someone who sought out such a life to be more open minded. Her disdain for women, Jews and blacks is scattered throughout the text. Eberhardt died in a flash flood in October 1904. She was 27 years old. These essays were found in a vase inside the ruins of the collapsed house.Recommended for those interested in travel, Islam, Sufism.

[Elke Benker · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Wonderfully descriptive of the people and landscape in the time, but at times the analogies came in thick and fast, making the writing appear dated. Still a beautiful read that mirrors so well the love for the land.