"Yes, my dear people, I have set my first footfall in the East, and oh! that I could tell you the new world of old poetry, of Bible images, of light, and life, and beauty which that word opens." Florence Nightingale was twenty-nine when she visited Egypt in the winter of 1849-50 with her friends Charles and Selina Bracebridge. A journey to the fabled land of the Arabian Nights was a fantastic adventure at that time, and Florence wrote long, picturesque letters to her family describing her visit and her views of the country, its history and its people. These letters were edited and privately printed by her sister, Parthenope, in 1854 and were greatly admired by those who read them, but they have never before been published.
Attractive, intelligent and extremely well read, Miss Nightingale was one of the earliest women to make such a journey, and she researched her subject well. Her letters are a fascinating account of life in a country whose greatest asset, its past, had only recently been discovered. They are also a valuable record of a way of life that has now vanished. And they are an extraordinary account into the character of a woman who within five years was to become a legend.
The brilliant landscapes and unimaginable colors of Egypt also drew artists from all over Europe, and Letters from Egypt is illustrated throughout with the glorious paintings and lithographs of David Roberts, Theodore Frere, Edward Lear and others.
Anthony Sattin, who has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia, is a writer and journalist who lives in London. He discovered and edited An Englishwoman in India: Memoirs of Harriet Tyler, published in 1986, and among his other published works are Lifting the Veil: The British in Egypt 1768-1956, and The Pharaoh's Shadow, which discusses how ancient Egyptian practices have influenced modern customs in that country. He has also written travel guidebooks to Egypt and the Greek Islands for AAA Essential Guides and Fodor's with his wife Sylvie Franquet. He is a regular contributor to the travel and book sections of The Sunday Times (London).
