Virago Travellers: The Cruel Way

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Once again Ella Maillart is on her way to Asia, but she is not alone. Christina, (real name Annemarie Schwarzenbach) a friend of Klaus and Erika Mann, accompanies her. She possesses exceptional charm and talent but she is a drug addict. Two courageous women, both highly original, find themselves in a difficult situation. An 18 hp Ford car takes the experienced travellers towards Afghanistan, via Istanbul, Trebizond, Tehran and Herat. They face checkpoints, poor roads, petty officials, crowds, deserts. Ella Maillart brings to her account her skill of precise observation, her taste for encounters and her affinity for the nomads, as well as her historical knowledge and the ethnological approach of a great Asia specialist.