Leo the African
Maalouf, Amin2002
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'Leo the African' is based on the true life-story of Hasan al-Wazzan, the 16th-century traveller and writer who came to be known as Leo Africanus, or Leo the African. This is a story of pirates, slave-girls and princesses, in a world in a state of religious flux. From his chlidhood in Fez, having fled the Christian Inquisition, through his many journeys to the East as an itinerant merhcant, Hasans story is a quixotic catalogue of pirates, slave girls and princesses, encompassing the complexities of a world in a state of religious flux. Hasan too is touched by the instability of the era, performing his hadj to Mecca, then converting to Christianity, only to relapse back to the Muslim faith later in life. In re-creating his extraordinary experiences, Amin Maalouf sketches an irrisistible portrait of the Mediterranea world as it was nearly five centuries ago - the fall of Granada, the Ottoman conquest of Egypt, Renaissance Rome under the Medicis: all contribute to a background of spectacular colour, matched only by the picaresque adventures of Hasan's life.
Main title:
Leo the African / Amin Maalouf ; translated by Peter Sluglett.
Author:
Imprint:
London : Abacus, 1994.
Collation:
360 p. ; 20 cm.
Notes:
This translation originally published: London: Quartet, 1988.Translated from the French.
ISBN:
9780349106007 (pbk)
Dewey class:
843.914
Language:
EnglishFrench
Subject:
Leo, Africanus -- FictionMuslim travelers -- FictionMediterranean Region -- History -- FictionBiographical fictionGeneralFiction in translationModern & contemporary fictionAdventure fictionHistorical adventure fictionReligious & spiritual fictionFiction: general & literaryAlternative history fictionHistorical fictionRelating to Christian people & groups
BRN:
2800213