The Collector of Worlds: A Novel of Sir Richard Francis Burton

“Iliya Troyanov has turned Burton’s unbelievable life into believable fiction, achieving a rounded and satisfying portrait that traditional biography could never match.”
—New York Times Book Review

The Collector of Worlds is a fictionalized account of the infamous life and times of Sir Richard Francis Burton—the British colonial officer stationed in India who made the Haj to Mecca, discovered the source of the Nile, spoke twenty-nine languages, and translated A Thousand and One Arabian Nights and the Kama Sutra into English. The winner of the fiction prize of Germany’s Leipzig Book Fair in 2006 and the Berlin Literary Award, The Collector of Worlds is a brilliant re-imagining of a richly eventful, truly incredible life.

A stunning fictionalized account of the infamous life of British colonial officer and translator Sir Richard Francis Burton

This fictionalized account imagines the life of Sir Richard Francis Burton—a nineteenth-century British colonial officer with a rare ability to assimilate into indigenous cultures. Burton's obsessive traveling took him from England to British India, Arabia, and on a quest for the source of the Nile River in Africa. He learned more than twenty lan­guages, translated The Arabian Nights and the Kama Sutra, and took part in the pilgrimage to Mecca, in addition to writing several travel books.

This elegant, layered novel tells the story of Burton's adventures in British West India, his experience on the hajj to Mecca, and his exploration of East Africa. In each section, perspective shifts between Burton and the voices of those men he encounters along the way: his Indian servant tells the stories of his travails with Burton to a scribe; the qadi, the governor, and the shari in Mecca investigate Burton's hajj; and Sidi Mubarak Bombay, his African guide, shares his story with friends in Zanzibar. The concentric narratives examine the underbelly of colonialism while offering a breathtaking tour of the nineteenth century's most stunning landscapes.

The Collector of Worlds won the fiction prize of Germany's Leipzig Book Fair in 2006 and the Berlin Literary Award, in addition to being a runaway bestseller in Germany.

“Troyanov recounts with gusto the three big adventures in Sir Richard Francis Burton’s oversized life. . . . But the book’s most satisfying adventure is the African explorations. . . . Troyanov (Mumbai to Mecca) is intimately acquainted with the Indian Ocean world, and this book has the cool virtuosity of one explorer saluting another.” - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“I was thrilled by this book. One could compare it to Moby-Dick, narrated in a masterly manner. . . . This is a novel that entertains as well as informs, and this is the best that one could say of any book.” - Günter Grass

‘Troyanov . . . is an excellent storyteller and his intensively researched tale contains vivid scenes of enchantment, erotic encounter and horror. His prose at times comes close to poetry and it has been well translated by William Hobson.’ - Robert Irwin, Times Literary Supplement

“This mesmerizing novel illuminates the iconic explorer and the world he wandered; it’s the perfect present for wannabe explorers.” - National Geographic Traveler Online

“A rounded and satisfying portrait that traditional biography could never match…Troyanov’s novel is itself an act of brave exploration, setting out to chart the unknown and unknowable by filling in the blank spaces of Richard Francis Burton.” - New York Times Book Review

‘[An] entrancing novel. . . . The adventures could gallop along, but Troyanov writes with the sort of specificity that makes his readers savour each detail and each line. From the novel’s first line . . . words explode with meaning, descriptions shimmer in new light.’ - Financial Times

‘A sensual adventure, and an exploration of Burton’s behaviour. . . . Troyanov’s scholarship has given us a new understanding of Burton’s world. It is an intensely passionate journey, and a wonderful piece of storytelling.’ - The Spectator

“There are novels so finely constructed that they propel you back to the beginning at the moment you reach the end. Instead of closing the covers, you return to the first page with fresh eyes. Iliya Troyanov’s ‘The Collector of Worlds’ is a wonderfully sumptuous example.” - Boston Globe

“Mesmerizing...the perfect present for wannabe explorers.” - National Geographic Traveler Online

“The 19th-century explorer, lover, translator and spy comes to life in the pages of an epic novel.” - Kirkus Reviews