Dust in the Lion's Paw. Autobiography 1939-1946.

8vo. XII, 296, [2] pp. With a map of the Middle East, titled "Dust in the Lion's Paw" on p. 6, 8 double-sided plates, and an illustration of a lion (in red) on the title-page. Green cloth with gold lettering on front cover and spine. With dust jacket, designed by Frank Quilter, and protected by a clear plastic jacket. First edition of Freya Stark's (1893-1993) fourth and final volume of autobiography, detailing her work, travels and life during the years 1939-1946. During the Second World War she travelled through the Middle East in the service of the British Ministry of Information, spreading propaganda for the Allied cause. According to the short blurb on the inside of the dustjacket, "Freya Stark's new book is an autobiography with a theme - the art of Persuasion .". She strictly promoted connections between the Allies and the peoples and governments of the Middle East, expressly speaking out against the Germans and also against Zionism. In Egypt she founded the "Brotherhood of Freedom", which she used to further her fight for freedom and secular democracy. - Untrimmed. With an ownership inscription on front pastedown in blue ink: "Marjorie Wood. December 1961". Overall in very good condition. - Blackmer 1470. Howgego IV, S 61. Shapero, The Islamic World (2004), 459 (first ed. misdated "1962"). Cf. article "Freya Stark" in Encyclopaedia Britannica.