Saints of Sind

Peter Mayne (1908-1979) was an English travel writer, revered for his two books on Pakistan and one on Morocco. He wrote with a rare incisive wit and a perfect memory for dialogue. Born in Wiltshire, he first travelled to India aged two. He worked as a liaison officer with the Pathan tribes of the North West Frontier for the RAF, witnessing what happened in Kashmir after the British forces evacuated. He then served the government of Pakistan as Deputy Secretary to the Ministry of Refugees and Rehabilitation. Resigning after the tension of Partition had eased, Peter acquired a flat in Athens in the late 60s, but he was always a traveller living in Spain, Istanbul and Cairo his brilliant social life fuelled by his vivacity and fluency with languages. Eland also publish A Year in Marrakesh and The Narrow Smile: A Journey back to the North-West Frontier.

as funny as Eric Newby, but infinitely more sensitive, self-aware and insightful with his openness to other cultures and other lives, lit up by wry, melancholy-tinged humour. Tim Hannigan