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In Morocco

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In Morocco

By: Edith Wharton
Narrated by: Anna Fields
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"To step on board a steamer in a Spanish port, and three hours later to land in a country without a guidebook, is a sensation to rouse the hunger of the most replete sightseer. The sensation is attainable by any one who will take the trouble to row out into the harbor of Algeciras and scramble onto a little black boat headed across the straits."

A classic of travel writing, In Morocco is Edith Wharton's remarkable account of her journey to that country during World War I. With her characteristic sense of adventure, Wharton set out to explore Morocco and its people, traveling by military jeep to Rabat, Moulay Idriss, Fez, and Marrakech, from the Atlantic coast to the high Atlas. Along the way, she witnessed religious ceremonies and ritual dances, visited the opulent palaces of the sultan, and was admitted to the mysterious world of his harem.

(P)1998 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Africa Literary History & Criticism United States World Literature Morocco Middle Ages Middle East Imperialism Adventures In Morocco
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Critic reviews

“Wharton on the road is an inexhaustible joy.”

(Times (London))

“There was no guide book to the country before this one...[her] descriptions brim with life and colour.”

(Independent (London))

“Since the audio is a first-person account, the narration apparently is being told by Wharton herself. For her fans, that places a large burden on Fields, who meets the challenge. Her voice is forceful, intelligent, textured, and clear…The way she handles foreign words is masterful.”

(Kliatt)

“Wharton’s language alternates between unimpassioned frankness and voluptuous description of Morocco’s staggering natural and cultural beauty. Anna Fields takes her cue from the text, delivering a clipped and assured reading when Wharton discusses conveyance, history, and other mundane matters, and an unhurried, even dreamy, reading of Wharton’s sensuous and evocative descriptions.”

(AudioFile)
All stars
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Edith Wharton's account of her visit to Morocco and her remarkable achievement in summing up its complex history and the development of its art and architecture, written about a century ago, are not well served by the narrator's unpleasantly harsh voice, as well as some bizarre mispronunciations. Hence only 4 stars, rather than the 5 the text itself deserves

a fascinating account let down by a poor narrator

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This is an extraordinary book. Wharton is an incredibly well educated guide, her knowledge of Morocco’s history and of the cultures that criss crossed it and affected its development or otherwise is unparalleled.
The time at which she took this journey allows us to glimpse the sometimes shocking sometimes beautiful always fascinating conglomeration of influences that were evident before the 20c truly encroached.
Slavery, polygamy, the segregation of women, brutality, religious self immolation, indolence, and a ‘refinement of life and taste’ equivalent to any in 17c France of England, sit side by side.
Many of the layers of culture and society are hard to see clearly, in part because of the essentially shifting and nomadic nature of the many peoples who have passed over these lands, but also because of the nature of later Arabic colonialism which tended to wipe out the artistic traces of previous conquerors.
At the time of Wharton’s exploration the early years of the invited French protectorate would seem to have brought some stability and with it the technological and concomitant economic advantages which would later to some degree homogenize this traditionally disparate group of peoples with their many origin stories.
I doubt anyone else could have brought such an enlightened eye to the many unnerving and / or bewildering sights and sounds that were evident to Wharton in 1916. Its an amazing ride.

Glimpses across a millennia on the Barbary Coast.

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I loved the story line, however at times it was a bit overwhelming. Learned, got a taste of life in Marocco in a very comfortable way.

in Marocco

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I have read quite a few books by Edith Wharton but this one was surprising inasmuch as I had not realised that she had written travelogues.
The description and the factual content are amazing. To think she visited Morocco in 1917 and learned so much about the country then is exceptional.
The details of the history of the country are encyclopaedic but still interesting today. I learned so much from this.
However, it is not just a travel book because it is written by an all-seeing author! So she brings to life the country and its people by her vivid descriptions in intricate detail with an author's eye.
I must say the narration is exceptional and the narrator - Anna Fields - has obviously done her preparation. Well done!

Surprising! An exceptional book.

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