THE LONG STRIDER IN JEHANGIR'S HINDUSTAN
This dual travelogue tells the extraordinary story of a maverick's 5000-mile journey on foot from England to India, across the forbidding Arabian desert and the treacherous Hindukush mountains, and then his wanderings in Mughal India. In the early 1600s, Thomas Coryate, writer and wanderer, decided to walk from his village in Somerset to the Indies-to the court of the 'Great Mogul', Jehangir-and onwards to China. His search was for fame, not fortune-he wanted to be the first Englishman to write about those distant lands. Above all, he wanted to prove himself to his many sceptics in Prince Henry's court, and to the beautiful Anne Harcourt, whom he loved deeply, only to be hurt. To reach the court of Jehnagir, Coryate survived penury, loneliness, ridicule and extreme hostility; but disillusionment awaited him at the end of his journey: despite her many wonders and charms, he was also shocked and repelled by India, and the emperor made a mockery of his dream. Coryate died in the port city of Surat and was buried there in an obscure grave.