Morocco That Was
by Walter Harris
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Description
Here are the vanished days of the unfettered Sultanate in all their dark, melodramatic splendor-a mingling of magnificence with squalor, culture with barbarism, refined cruelty with na‹ve humor. Until 1912 Morocco never suffered foreign domination, and its mountainous interior was as closed to foreigners as Tibet. Walter Harris (1866-1933), though, was the exception. He first visited in 1887 and lived in the country for more than thirty-five years, and as the Times correspondent had show more observed every aspect of its life. He was an intimate of at least three of the ruling Sultans (as well as King Edward VII) and a man capable even of befriending his kidnapper. It was said that only three Christians had ever visited the walled city of Chechaouen: one was poisoned, one came for an hour disguised as a rabbi, and the other was Harris. Originally published in 1921, Morocco That Was is alternately sharp, melodramatic, and extremely funny. "The combination of perceptive and reliable observer, and romantic eccentric, makes this book a classic of its genre."--Times Literary Supplement. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
I had no particular interest in Morocco, but this looked interesting, and so it was. The author was the Times correspondent to the country in the late 19th and early 20th century so this is an eyewitness account of the last years of its independence.
He knew several successive Sultans personally and in the first half of the book he describes the court and its workings and dysfunctions. He says that the system of government was unchanged for hundreds of years. I could well believe it. Despite the differences of culture and geography I noticed a number of interesting parallels between the Sultanate and the Medieval English kings.
In the second half of the book he moves to a number of different subjects and stories. Perhaps most interesting show more is his account of the time he spent as a hostage. What he has to say about Morocco often reveals a country dark and disturbing, but always interesting. And he’s a dab hand at telling an amusing story.
The Eland edition is a nice one. The usual well-made paperback with good paper. There’s a good photograph of the author looking incredibly camp in a sexy black off-the-shoulder number. Also a very good afterword that discusses how much of the book is true. Apparently Harris was known at school as the Liar. show less
He knew several successive Sultans personally and in the first half of the book he describes the court and its workings and dysfunctions. He says that the system of government was unchanged for hundreds of years. I could well believe it. Despite the differences of culture and geography I noticed a number of interesting parallels between the Sultanate and the Medieval English kings.
In the second half of the book he moves to a number of different subjects and stories. Perhaps most interesting show more is his account of the time he spent as a hostage. What he has to say about Morocco often reveals a country dark and disturbing, but always interesting. And he’s a dab hand at telling an amusing story.
The Eland edition is a nice one. The usual well-made paperback with good paper. There’s a good photograph of the author looking incredibly camp in a sexy black off-the-shoulder number. Also a very good afterword that discusses how much of the book is true. Apparently Harris was known at school as the Liar. show less
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Author Information
4 Works 90 Members
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 1921
- Important places
- Morocco
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 80
- Popularity
- 395,765
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.81)
- Languages
- English, French
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 6
- ASINs
- 2
