First edition of Browne’s remarkable account of his year-long journey through Iran in 1887-88. It is celebrated not only for his intelligent and (for the time) tolerant description of the country and its people, but for providing “an infallible guide to modern Persian literature and thought” (Edward Denison Ross, from his introductory ‘Memoir’ to the 1926 edition).
Browne’s interest in the Islamic world was first piqued by the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78, which stirred his natural inclination toward the underdog and thus a fascination with Turkey. While at Cambridge he perused Eastern languages alongside his medical studies and discovered a gift for those tongues covered by the Indian Languages Tripos. Then followed an immersion in Sufi literature — a counterweight to the earthly suffering he found on hospital duty — and a fast-growing love of all things Persian. Failed applications to the consular service dampened his hopes of travelling to Iran, but his dream was revived on becoming a Fellow of his college in 1887.
A Year Amongst the Persians records his journey in great detail, featuring unfading portraits of several cities and towns, including Tabriz, Tehran (a ten-month stay), Isfahan, Shiraz, Yazd and Kerman. While most chapters are devoted to individual locations, some interrupt the narrative to expand on Browne’s interest in minority religions. Chapter VI, Mysticism, Metaphysics and Magic, gives an introduction to certain faiths and practices, and points toward his later research on Bábism.
Diba, p.246; Wilson, p.30.
