Norman Douglas, Fountains in the Sand: Rambles Among the Oases of Tunisia

Grove Koger (Independent Scholar - Europe)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.08: English Writing and Culture of the early Twentieth Century , 1900-1945.
Vol. editors: Chris Baldick (Goldsmiths College, University of London), Peter Childs (Birmingham Newman University), Louise McDonald (Birmingham Newman University), Andrew Radford (University of Glasgow)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1912

Places

Austria, Vorarlberg (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Non-Fiction
- Guidebooks / Travel writing

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Although Norman Douglas reserved his greatest affection for Italy, he had visited Tunisia as early as 1899, and would revisit it several times. The single book he wrote about the North African country,

Fountains in the Sand

, is based on a trip he made through its southern regions during the winter of 1909-1910-a trip that ultimately took him to “those mysterious depressions” known as the chotts and the oases that lie on their periphery. “

Ultimately” because Douglas extended what was to have been a short stay in the central Tunisian city of Gafsa. Why he did so is unclear, for the weather was cold and the city seems to have held few attractions. “One dines early in Gafsa,” he declares at one point, “and afterwards there is nothing, absolutely nothing, to do.” Yet Douglas

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658 words

Citation: Koger, Grove. "Fountains in the Sand: Rambles Among the Oases of Tunisia". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 06 September 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=5068, accessed 25 November 2024.]

Norman Douglas, Fountains in the Sand: Rambles Among the Oases of Tunisia

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