An Arabian Princess Between Two Worlds: Memoirs, Letters Home, Sequels to the Memoirs, Syrian Customs and Usages (Arab History and Civilization. Stu) [Hardcover]

Emily Ruete (Author), E. Van Donzel (Author, Editor), Sayyida Salme (Author, Editor)

Book Description

Series: Arab History and Civilization. Stu | Publication Date: January 1, 1993

Princess Salme, daughter of Sa'id ibn Sultan, ruler of Oman and Zanzibar, was born in Zanzibar in 1844. After becoming acquainted with the German merchant Rudolph Heinrich Ruete she fled to Aden in 1866 where she was baptized with the Christian name Emily and where she married Ruete. In Hamburg, three children were born. Her husband died in 1870 and after that she lived in several cities in Germany. In 1885 and again in 1888 she went back to Zanzibar. Between 1889 and 1914 she lived in Jaffa and Beirut, and afterwards in Germany. She died in Jena in 1924. This work contains a short biography of Princess Salme/Emily Ruete and of her son Rudolph Said-Ruete, an English translation of her "Memoirs" and an English version of her other writings, unpublished so far: "Letters Home", "Sequels to the Memoirs" and "Syrian Customs and Usages".

Editorial Reviews

Review

'"Cet ouvrage remarquable et agriable lire sera disormais indispensable tout historien de cette rigion d'Afrique.'
J.-P. L, "Mideo.
'"The volume has been produced to the high standard to be expected of this publisher and is lavishly illustrated. It is useful to read, as offering a different perspective from these memoirs.'
C.F. Beckingham, "Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1994.
'..".van Donzel's richly annotated translation is the fullest to date, comprising not only the memoirs themselves, but Ruete's sequel to the memoirs and some important miscellania...The enlarged edition is useful to social historians of the Middle East, historians of colonialism, and, because it is conveniently excerptable, suitable reading for students, particularly in that still thinly covered era of Middle Eastern women's history, where primary, inside sources by women are so scarce.'
Billie Melman, "International Journal Middle Eastern Studies, 1995.
'"Ihr exemplarischer Wert besteht nich zuletzt in der sorgfdltigen Darstellung der angef]hrten Belege.'
Ludmila Hanisch, "Anthropos, 1994.
'..".un viritable trisor d'informations.'
Randi Deguilhem, "Bulletin d'Itudes Orientales.
'"Rarely is a reviewer so fortunate as to receive a book which is such sheer pleasure to read. Richly illustrated, beautifully produced...The book should be required reading for all those interested in the Middle East, in Muslims in the West, in ethnography, and in translational phenomena in general. E. van Donzel and E.J. Brill must be congratulated on producing this exciting and first-rate volume.'
Fedwa Malti-Douglas, "Journal of the American Oriental Society, 1996.
'"Ein in all seinen Teilensehr lesenswertes, historisch, vor allem dank van Donzels gr]ndlicher Recherchen, hvchst aufschlu_reiches Buch!'
Wiebke Walther, "Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenldndischen Gesellschaft, 1996.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German

Product Details

• Hardcover: 549 pages
• Publisher: Brill Academic Pub; annotated edition edition (January 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9004096159
• ISBN-13: 978-9004096158
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,997,825 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Between history and legend, April 12, 2000

By 

Lorenzo Declich (Roma, Italy) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Arabian Princess Between Two Worlds: Memoirs, Letters Home, Sequels to the Memoirs, Syrian Customs and Usages (Arab History and Civilization. Stu) (Hardcover)

In the XIX century many western painters tried to describe the "lost world" of harems and sultanian courts. But those paintings were only imagination, because generally the westerns were not allouded to enter in those places. Instead, these "Memoirs" are a genuine source for having an idea of an islamic court of the XIX century. Furthermore the unicity of this book is due to the fact that it is written by a woman, the daughter of the Sultan Said bin Sultan of Oman, who escaped away from Zanzibar with a german trader and married him. The diary of Salme Reute was published many times and in different places. The edition by E. Van Donzel is more accurate and annotated than others. In it we find old photographs and other written materials on Zanzibar and Salme collected by the editor in different european archives.