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Ilija Trojanow

The Collector of Worlds: A Novel of Sir Richard Francis Burton Hardcover – Bargain Price, March 24, 2009

by Iliya Troyanov (Author)

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3.4 on Goodreads

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A stunning fictionalized account of the infamous life of British colonial officer and translator Sir Richard Francis Burton

This fictionalized account imagines the life of Sir Richard Francis Burton—a nineteenth-century British colonial officer with a rare ability to assimilate into indigenous cultures. Burton's obsessive traveling took him from England to British India, Arabia, and on a quest for the source of the Nile River in Africa. He learned more than twenty languages, translated The Arabian Nights and the Kama Sutra, and took part in the pilgrimage to Mecca, in addition to writing several travel books.

This elegant, layered novel tells the story of Burton's adventures in British West India, his experience on the hajj to Mecca, and his exploration of East Africa. In each section, perspective shifts between Burton and the voices of those men he encounters along the way: his Indian servant tells the stories of his travails with Burton to a scribe; the qadi, the governor, and the shari in Mecca investigate Burton's hajj; and Sidi Mubarak Bombay, his African guide, shares his story with friends in Zanzibar. The concentric narratives examine the underbelly of colonialism while offering a breathtaking tour of the nineteenth century's most stunning landscapes.

The Collector of Worlds won the fiction prize of Germany's Leipzig Book Fair in 2006 and the Berlin Literary Award, in addition to being a runaway bestseller in Germany.

Print length

464 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Ecco
Publication date

March 24, 2009
Dimensions

6 x 1.41 x 9 inches
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Troyanov recounts with gusto the three big adventures in Sir Richard Francis Burton's oversized life: his career as officer and spy—which ended when he delivered a report on British soldiers frequenting a male brothel; his famous journey to Mecca in the guise of a doctor from India; and his exploration, with John Speke, of the great African lakes that feed the Nile. The most alluring adventure is the Indian one, which largely concerns itself with Burton's affair with the luscious Kundalini, who ignites Burton's interest in Eastern wisdom stories by commingling storytelling with sex. Burton's haj to Mecca is fascinating for the details, and that Burton pulls it off. But the book's most satisfying adventure is the African explorations; Troyanov captures the psychology of the two very different (and by the end of the trip, mutually hostile) explorers as well as he does the histories of the African peoples whose lands they pass through. Troyanov (Mumbai to Mecca) is intimately acquainted with the Indian Ocean world, and this book has the cool virtuosity of one explorer saluting another. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

The current boom in the fictional biography genre is responsible for the rescue of an array of fascinating historical figures from scholarly obscurity. Colonial officer, linguist, master of disguise, spy, and explorer Sir Richard Francis Burton is a primary example. His larger-than-life true story serves as an ideal vehicle for an episodic foray into the nineteenth-century world of British colonialism. Boomeranging from India to Arabia to Africa, Burton encounters romance, intrigue, and danger while absorbing the cultures, languages, and customs of every place he visits. Troyanov artfully employs multiple narrators, lending these adventures both depth and perspective. Historical-fiction aficionados will definitely want to accompany this seasoned voyager on his exotic journeys. --Margaret Flanagan

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B002QGSWQK
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ecco; 1st edition (March 24, 2009)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 464 pages
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.45 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.41 x 9 inches

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3.3 out of 5

30 global ratings

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Read THE DEVIL DRIVES instead

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 7, 2009

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In a note prior to beginning his novel, Iliya Troyanov makes the following disclaimer about THE COLLECTOR OF WORLDS: "Despite occasional direct quotations, its characters and plot are predominately the product of the author's imagination and make no claim to be measured against biographical fact." Rather then focus on Richard Burton, for some reason Troyanov let's us see him through the eyes of minor characters.

Troyanov divides the novel into three parts: Burton's exploits in India as a young army captain; his infiltration of Medina and Mecca; and his efforts to find the source of the Nile.

For the first segment, Troynanov relies on the point of view of Naukaram, Burton's servant. Most of this is about Naukaram's efforts to get a letter of recommendation written by a lahiya (a sort of scribe) by telling him of his time with Burton after he had been dismissed for getting into a fight with a chef. As a result we don't learn much about Burton's exploits as a spy. However, we do see him begin to wear Arab clothes and begin to learn several languages.

The second part, Burton's penetration of the Moslem holy cities, mostly deals with various Islamic officials investigating how Burton was able to overcome their defenses. We hear from The Sharif of Mecca among others. They interrogate the innocent pilgrims who accompanied Burton on his Hajj. Most have nothing but good things to say about Burton. Burton assumes the disguise of a Persian doctor and dervisher who likes to drink. This doesn't surprise the pilgrims much. Meanwhile we're introduced to some curious Islamic activities, such as circumambulating anti-clockwise the Kaaba, the supposed Rock of Abraham, seven times along with hundreds of other pilgrims who try to touch it.

The third segment deals with Burton's attempt to find the source of the Nile. Burton sets out, with fellow explorer John Speke, on a caravan led by African guide and former slave, Sidi Mubarek Bombay, to find the two mysterious lakes, one of which Speke names Lake Victoria. Burton is sick with malaria most to the time. As a result, Speke gets the jump on him with the help of Bombay. Bombay likes to tell stories. Unfortunately his wife has heard most of them; their humorous interaction is the highlight of this part of the book.

Troyanov skips over the debate with Speke about the true source of the Nile. He doesn't even cover Speke's suicide (or hunting accident) on the eve of a debate with Burton. Instead we see Burton on his death bed and the priest who administers extreme unction is worried that Burton was not a Christian. Luckily the bishop has a somewhat more magnanimous interpretation of the term.

There is a glossary at the back of the book, but it seemed that every time I looked for a word, it was missing. Personally I think a writer should think twice before he/she choses a historical character as the inspiration for a novel. It almost never works, especially when the author approaches the task from such an oblique angle. The reader would be better off reading Burton's own accounts or THE DEVIL DRIVES by Fawn
Brodie.

6 people found this helpful

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Sidney Orr

One may admire RB's accomplishments for some time, until ...

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 21, 2017

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One may admire RB's accomplishments for some time,
until one realizes he was a man of his times: a very uninformed
Jew-hater, too bigoted and lazy to add Hebrew to his impressive
language skills, and too lazy to talk to the many Rabbis
he went out of his way to avoid, lest his received, strange, illogical,
hateful preconceptions be challenged. Its educational to be reminded
that those who many regard as learned, are anything but... in unexpected ways...

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Dr. George Wittingslow

Collector of the worlds

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 6, 2010

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The writer and the subject Richard Burton have a critical thing in common,place. Whilst Burton was one of the first in the "place' Troyanov has been there and brings the colour and feeling of the exotic to his book.
Personally I prefer books written in the first person and this one is not.
Overall I enjoyed the book and will reread it again in the near future.

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C. Gallardo

Makes it all so real.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 20, 2011

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An amazing man who led an amazing life, and this book brings it all to life for the reader. Years ago the BBC produced a wonderful series on the search for the source of the Nile, and so that part of Burton's story can be SEEN, but such a brilliant life that was full of such high adventure could never be shown without a VERY VERY long series made at terrible expense. This book, while covering only certain exciting phases of his career, comes as close as anything can to making it all real for you, short of giving you malaria.

One person found this helpful

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SS

Not Based on Reality

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 28, 2019

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Right up front in the book, the author says the story is not based on actual events--it is all made up! I knew it was a novel, but thought/hoped it was a historical novel that had been researched and written around actual events. It should say ENTIRELY FICTION on the website! Another donation for the local library for someone who is not interested in learning anything about history.

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T. Ambrose

An enjoyable novel about an incredible genius.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 29, 2020

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I have read several biographies of Burton over the years. He was another of those incredible British geniuses of the Victorian era. This book is an enjoyable novelization of Burton's life and accomplishments. I enjoyed it immensely.

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Ted B.

The Collector of Worlds: A Novel of Sir Richard Burton

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 16, 2010

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This was an excellent selection! Burton was truly a universal man, and the book read like the wind! Great book! Burton is known for his exotic travel adventures all over the world in the 19th century, and was a linguist who spoke 29 languages! He also wrote a great quantity of books, which have been read by interested people everywhere.

One person found this helpful

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James Percy

Absolutely excellent. A great fantasy of a great man.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 6, 2010

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This is a great bio of a truly giant of a man. Those who have read biographies of or works by Sir Richard Francis Burton will enjoy this. Others, perhaps not as much. A blistering insight into the British Empire's India. Fine reading.

One person found this helpful

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Ralph Blumenau

Scenes from a remarkable life

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 13, 2009

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This novel is about three episodes in the life of that fascinating 19th century character, Sir Richard Burton (1821 to 1890), soldier, amateur anthropologist and explorer.

The first, which takes up about half the book, covers his life as a soldier in India (1842 to 1859). Thoroughly bored by the routine and by the narrow vision of his fellow officers, he first began learning several of India's native languages, and then took pride in his ability to disguise himself as an Indian so as to be able to mingle with them and get closer to understanding their way of life. Initially, when he was stationed in Baroda, he studied the Hindus; but when he was moved to Muslim Sindh, he became particularly fascinated by Islam. The conqueror of Sindh, General Napier, got Burton to use his skills to gather intelligence for him; but Burton thought the General's wish to impose British values on the natives wrong and counter-productive. This made him unreliable in the opinion of the army and would block any promotion. He left India and the Army.

The second part covers his pilgrimage to Mecca in 1853, disguised as Sheikh Abdullah and having made himself so perfectly familiar with the theory and practice of Islam that nobody penetrated his disguise; and the Muslim world was duly shocked when on his return he published an account of this experience. This part of the story gives a vivid account of such a pilgrimage - the dangers of attacks by plunderers, the fulfilment when the goal has been finally reached, but also the sickness and death that was the fate of so many exhausted pilgrims.

The third part covers Burton's expedition of 1857, together with his colleague and rival, John Hanning Speke, to find the source of the Nile. Again the many ordeals of the expedition are well described: the terrible terrain, frightful diseases, tribute to be paid to the chief of every village through which they passed, encounters with brutal Arab slavers.

The narrative alternates, in part 1 with comments of his Hindu servant; in part 2, rather tediously, with the attempts of Ottoman officials to find out, after Burton had published his account of his journey to Mecca, what his purpose might have been: they suspect it was gathering information for Britain's imperialist purposes; and in part 3, with an African guide who recounts to his friends his memories of the expedition, and who is the most interesting of the three. This device enables Troyanov to show Burton as he might have been seen by others, but I found it somewhat distracting, especially as you have to read some of the dialogue between several characters more than once to make sure who is speaking.

Altogether, I was a little disappointed by this book. Burton's personality did not come out as vividly as I think it might have done; the prose is sometimes striking, but at others it goes, I think, a little over the top (the book has been translated from the German by William Hobson); and the three episodes represent only a fraction (though a large one) of Burton's life. After a decent interval, I may return to him again, this time through a proper biography like Fawn Brodie's The Devil Drives.

2 people found this helpful

Paul Griffiths

strange

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 29, 2013

Verified Purchase

As i presume this was translated to english sometimes it gets a little
lost(in translation) but does evoke the period well,and the sense of Burton
on his adventures,Ive been a collector of Burtons books and biographies
and this is a different but intriguing way to read of his exploits

One person found this helpful

Linda Brandt

prima

Reviewed in Germany 🇩🇪 on April 24, 2021

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macht spass zu lesen

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sunil datye

Interesting Life Story

Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on August 22, 2017

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Very interesting and wonderful account of the life of a globe trotter. reader is acquainted with many facts of the world unknown. worth reading, however, convenient if Kindle Ed. is available.--- Sunil Datye

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The Collector of Worlds: A Novel of Sir Richard Francis Burton Hardcover – Bargain Price, March 24, 2009

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