{"product_id":"the-dervish-bowl-the-many-lives-of-arminius-vamb-ry","title":"The Dervish Bowl: The Many Lives of Arminius Vamb?ry","description":"\u003cb\u003eA narrative of the life of Arminius Vámbéry.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Who was Arminius Vámbéry? A poverty-stricken, Jewish autodidact; a linguist, traveler, and writer--or a sometime Zionist, inspiration for Dracula's nemesis, and British secret agent? Vámbéry wrote his own story many times over, and it was these often highly embroidered accounts of journeys through Persia and Central Asia that saw him acclaimed in Victorian England as an intrepid explorer and daring adventurer. Against the backdrop of the \"Great Game,\" in which Russia and Britain jostled for territory, influence, and control of the borders and gateways to India and its wealth, Vámbéry played the roles of hero and double-dealer, of fascinated witness and imperialist charlatan. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Dervish Bowl \u003c\/i\u003eis the story of these competing narratives and a compelling investigation of both the ever-changing persona Vámbéry created for himself and the man who emerges from his private correspondence and the accounts of both his friends and his enemies, many of whom were themselves major players in the geopolitical adventures of the volatile nineteenth century--a time when Britain's ambitions for her empire were at their height, yet nothing and no one was quite as they seemed. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAnabel Loyd\u003c\/b\u003e has been a regular columnist for the\u003ci\u003e Indian Telegraph \u003c\/i\u003efor many years. She has lived and worked in India and has a particular interest in the Indian history of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Haus Pub.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50869562999058,"sku":"9781913368975","price":25.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_0a543059-c4d5-42bb-a79d-5339309e4b82.jpg?v=1737761939","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-dervish-bowl-the-many-lives-of-arminius-vamb-ry","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}