The Valleys of the Assassins by Freya Stark

A child of privilege, she grew up in near poverty she longed for love, but consistently focused on the wrong men.

Admired by British officialdom, her knowledge of Middle Eastern languages and culture aided the military and diplomatic corps, for whom she conceived an effective propaganda network during WWII.īut Stark's indomitable spirit was forged by contradictions, her high-profile wanderings often masking deep insecurities. She explored the mountainous territory of the mysterious Assassins of Persia, became the first woman to explore Luristan in western Iran, and followed ancient frankincense routes to locate a lost city. She was captured in 1927 by the French military police after penetrating their cordon around the rebellious Druze. Leaving behind a miserable family life, Freya set out, at the age of thirty-four, to explore remote and dangerous regions of the Middle East. And with the publication of The Valley of the Assassins in 1934, her legend was launched. Her account is at once a highly readable travel narrative and a richly drawn, sympathetic portrait of a people told from their own compelling point of view.Freya Stark-traveler, explorer, Arabist, and woman of letters-began the extraordinary adventures that would glamorize her-and would catapult her into public life for the next sixty years-in 1927. Stark writes engagingly of the nomadic peoples who inhabit the region's valleys and brings to life the stories of the ancient kingdoms of the Middle East, including that of the Lords of Alamut, a band of hashish eating terrorists whose stronghold in the Elburz Mountains Stark was the first to be documented for the Royal Geographical Society. The book chronicles her travels into Luristan, the mountainous terrain nestled between Iraq and present day Iran, often with only a single guide and on a shoestring budget. Instantly recognised as a classic upon its first publication in 1934, The Valleys of the Assassins firmly established Freya Stark (1883-1993), as one of her generation's most intrepid explorers. Not price clipped (price on spine 6/-), small previous owner's inscription on ffep, some faint spotting to endpapers, internally clean tight and square, overall a reasonable copy, printed on thin wartime paper. Edge wear, chipping, closed tears and small loss to top and bottom of jacket and spine, corners and folds rubbed with small loss, spine browned, some overall time staining.

First published in 1934, this is an eighth impression (third small 'pocket' impression on thin paper) of 1946.

The Valleys of the Assassins by Freya Stark