The Adventures of Haji Baba of Ispahan (The Heritage Press)

lii, 498 pp. Preface by Sir Walter Scott. Illustrations by Honore Guilbeau. Morier's picaresque novel, first published in England in 1824, is believed to have been based on the life and character of a prominent figure during the Qajar period, Mirza Abolhasan Khan Ilchi. Born in 1776, Ilchi was appointed the first Persian foreign affairs minister, and he served as the Special Iranian Ambassador to England from about 1810 to 1813. Morier first visited Iran in 1808 as a secretary to Sir Harford, who was the special envoy to the Shah. He continued his journey through that country as a Charg? d'Affaires from 1814 through 1816. His time provided him an astonishing knowledge of numerous Iranian customs and beliefs, and an understanding of many aspects of Iranian life which would not have been accessible to non-Iranians.