In the Shadow of Islam is an extraordinary evocation of the desert and its people by a woman who dressed as a man in order to travel alone and unimpeded throughout North Africa. In 1897 Isabelle Eberhardt, aged 20, left an already unconventional life in Geneva for the Morroccan frontier. Gripped by spiritual restlessness and the desire to break free from the confinements of her society she travelled into the desert, and into the heart of Islam. Her experiences inspired a profound self-examination, and In the Shadow of Islam is today regarded as one of the true classics of travel writing.