A Journey from Peking to Kashmir News from Tartary

About the Book The book recounts a successful 3500 mile journey from Peking, China to Kashmir, India in 1935. He was accompanied on this journey by Ella Maillart (Kini). The journey started on 16 February 1935 and took seven months to complete. The objective of the journey was, as contained within the title of the book, to ascertain what was happening in Sinkiang (also known as Chinese Turkestan) in the aftermath of the civil war.

The author notes that "Tartary is not strictly a geographical term, any more than Christendom is", and goes on to point out that Tartary is merely the name given to the place where the Tartars come from. He explains that in his usage it refers to Sinkiang and the highlands bordering it.

The journey tool the travellers from Peking to Tungkuan, then Sian, Pingliang. Lanchow, Sining, Dzunchia, Tejinar, Issik Pakte, Cherchen, Niya, Keriya, Khotan,Guma Karghalik, Yarkand, Kashgar, Tashkurgan, Hunza, Nagar, Gilgit and finally Srinagar.

About the Author Peter Fleming was one of four sons of the barrister and MP Valentine Fleming, who was killed in action in 1917, having served as MP for Henley from 1910. Peter's younger brother lan was the author of the James Bond books. Fleming was educated at Eton, where he edited the Eton College Chronicle. The Peter Fleming Owl (the English meaning of "Strix", the name under which he later wrote for The Spectator) is still awarded every year to the best contributor to the Chronicle. He went on from Eton to Christ Church, Oxford, and graduated with a first class degree in English. He was a member of the Bullingdon Club during his time there. In 1935 he married the actress Celia Johnson (1908-1982), best known for her roles in the films Brief Encounter and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.

Fleming travelled from Moscow to Peking via the Caucasus, the Caspian, Samarkand, Tashkent, the Turksib Railway and the Trans-Siberian Railway to Peking as a special correspondent of The Times. His experiences were written up in One's Company (1934). He then went overland in company of Ella Maillart from China to India on a journey written up in News from Tartary (1936). These two books were combined as Travels in Tartary: One's Company and News from Tartary (1941). All three volumes were published by Jonathan Cape.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages