FRENCH, Evangeline, Mildred CABLE & Francesca FRENCH. A Desert Journal. Letters From Central Asia. London: Constable & Co. Ltd. 1934.
8vo. Original cloth; pp. ix, 261, with 16 black and white plates in fine photogravure, large folding map at rear; a bump to front cover, light offsetting from endpapers, otherwise a very good copy.
First edition, triple-signed and inscribed by the authors on initial blank.
The book is a series of letters by Mildred Cable, Francesca French and her sister Evangeline, the relentless missionaries known as 'the trio', sent home between the years of 1928 to 1932, reporting their experiences, hardships and joy in Central Asia, China, Tibet, Kashmir, Mongolia and Turkestan. 'It is for the Trio's work in this part of central Asia that they were to become widely known in missionary circles and also to the British public. While their numerous journeys across the Gobi Desert were motivated by their evangelical calling, the hardships and frequent dangers endured made them pioneer women travellers and explorers of this region, and they were the first British women to visit the city of Urumchi. Their work was frequently obstructed by growing political disturbance, and Cable's medical skills, which saved the life of Muslim warlord Ma Zhangying, proved a valuable passport to their own survival' (ODNB).
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