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| Life in the Eagle's Nest - Front Cover |
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| Life in the Eagle's Nest - Back Cover |
According to the
inscription inside the front cover, Life in the Eagle's Nest – A
Tale of Afghanistan by A.L.O.E. was awarded to my great grandfather
“for good attendance and diligence by Waratah Wesleyan Sabbath
School 16/3/84.”
As
it seemed to be a rather obscure little title, I was surprised to
find further details on-line – evidently A.L.O.E. stands for “A
Lady of England., and the author's real name was Charlotte Maria
Tucker. She was born in 1821 and so was over sixty when this book
came out. A.L.O.E. Is a woman of her times – convinced of her
innate superiority as a white woman and a Christian in a way that is
truly cringe-worthy to most modern readers.
Referring
to herself in the third person she writes in the preface: “A.L.O.E.
Wants money for her “Mission Plough,” a School for Mohammedan and
heathen boys in Batala, and it occurred to her that hours, not
taken from her city work, might
be given to earning something by literary effort”
The
text is, in turn, hilariously and embarrassingly bad – e.g. in case
you can't read the caption to the picture is says “I have him now!
Dog of a renegade die!” exclaimed Mustapha, aiming the pistol at
the head of Ali Khan.”
The
cover of the book, however, is gorgeous and a photograph doesn't
really convey the beauty of the deeply embossed the dark blue cover –
with black debossed sections on the front and embossed plain blue on
the back. The picture on the front is etched in a bright gold, which
has retained its vibrancy after all these years, as has the spine
which is also embossed, and has gold engraved detail. Independent of
its contents, this book is a really is a lovely object to look at and
to touch.
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