In 1884 an obscure British soldier, having finished his tour of duty in India, decided to make a detour on his trip home in order to spend three months crossing Persia unaccompanied except for the local muleteers. Among his accoutrements he packed a small leather-bound sketchbook in which he not only wrote a journal but in which he also added accomplished and charming water-colour illustrations. The authors’ introduction contextualises this trip made in 1884 against the background of Persianate influence in British culture, and the general cultural background of late Victorian Britain is presented as the subliminal driver behind a young man’s desire to explore, and illustrate, an already discovered country – Persia.

Russell Harris holds an MA in Oriental Studies from Balliol College, Oxford, and is an established translator of literary works from French and Arabic. He is a contributor to the The Routledge Encyclopedia of 19th Century Photography and The Encyclopaedia Islamica.

Marjan Afsharian gained her MA in the History of Art and Archaeology at SOAS. She currently works for the Encyclopaedia Islamica project at The Institute of Ismaili Studies, London.

Table of Figures
John Compton Pyne (1857-1893), 2nd Battalion, The Dorsetshire Regiment, by Jeremy Archer
Acknowledgements
Introduction, by Russell Harris and Marjan Afsharian
Background to the Journal
Cultural background
Romantic attraction of Persia and the call of Lalla Rookh
Persia in music and applied arts
The telegraph
Persia in Europe
Tourism and adventure in the Orient
The state of Persia
Conclusion
The Journal
Epilogue, by Jeremy Archer
Bibliography
Index