Explorer, Consul, Soldier, Spy
from the dust jacket
Percy Sykes was sent to Persia by Army Intelligence in the 1890s, first as an explorer and spy, the to open consulates along Persia's eastern borders. His job was to deter Russian Expansion towards India. Unpaid, he rode through thousands of miles of the harshest desert, marsh and mountain, often with his indomitable sister, who kept house for him until he married
When consul at Meshed during a very turbulent time, he bugged the Russian consulate and, armed only with diplomacy, single-handedly faced down a Russian attempt to annex north-east Persia.
During the First World War the Greenmantle figure Wassmuss - 'the German Lawrence' - incited the southern tribes of Persia against the British. Sykes, who knew everyone who mattered in Persia, was sent out to raise a regiment of local villagers to keep Persian oil safe for the Royal Navy.
Sykes was no blimp. He hunted gazelle with princes, read Persian poetry, sat at the feet of dervish masters and got to the heart of the country. The story of his 25 years in Persia, laced with humour and domestic detail, gives an insight into Persia that is still useful for those seeking to understand that enigmatic land and its edgy relations with the outside world.
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