Morocco

by Pierre Loti and Professor Pierre Loti

Book Overview

First Published in 2002. Pierre Loti was a member of a diplomatic mission to the Sultan of Morocco at Fez, and in this book he gives us an extraordinarily fascinating account of the journey. The departure of the caravan from Tangier, the encampments, the nightly arrival of the Mouna, the crossing of the Oued-M'Cazen in flood, the fantasies and 'powder-play' of the Arab horsemen, and the magnificent state entry into Fez, are described in a succession...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1138869651
• ISBN13: 9781138869653
• Release Date: March 2015
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Great book for dreamers and violinists of all ages

I loved this book passionately as a child and just re-bought it as an adult so my own children can enjoy it. Cowritten by Yehudi Menuhin (that's Baron Menuhin to you, buddy), it's the story of a hapless, happy king who has too many accountants and not enough money. His crown jewels are always falling out and rolling under the throne, the palace ceiling leaks, and every time he counts his accountants, the number changes--and gets higher! The Chief Accountant determines he must save the kingdom by firing the King's beloved fiddlers, which is a tragedy in a kingdom where music is happiness and happiness is music. But the fiddlers' salary, put back into the palace, fixes everything except the happiness of the kingdom. Enter the cat (distantly related, we are told, to the famed cat fiddler who got the cow to jump over the moon). He advises the King that it is his highness himself who must bring back music to the kingdom. Joachim, the cat in question, teaches the King how to play the violin, and once the King is performance-ready, he becomes a wandering troubadour of sorts, traveling far and wide across his lands to bring music back to the people. The music is contagious, and every subject is asked to learn an instrument, and before you know it, the fleet of accountants, in their waistcoats and tails, are transformed into a full, brilliant symphony orchestra, and music is restored to the palace at last! The story is full of the kingdom's silly-wise sayings about music, and the story's language and these sayings give the whole book a romantic feel, reminiscent of fairy tales and fables and fitting into the pantheon of children's literature perfectly. The last three pages of the book feature line drawings of Baron Menuhin demonstrating the exercises for fiddlers that Joachim taught the King. (This may be the didactic inspiration for the book, but the story itself glosses over this element, and it stands alone as a charming romance.) Angela Barrett's illustrations are brilliant. This was only her first or second published project, and she did a bangup job. The King, The Cat and The Fiddle is one of those illustrated books that are simply dense, which children love! Everywhere you look in the pictures, musical notes and keys are hidden in the palace's design, and you can also see thoughtful evidence of the palace's disrepair. Beautiful and captivating. Highly recommended, and should be back in print for the children of today!