Robert Byron
Robert Byron was born on January 1st, 1905. Robert passed away February 24th, 1941 at 36 years old. Robert Byron was born in Wembley, Middlesex, England. Byron attended Merton College, Oxford where he received a third-class degree in Modern History.
Robert Byron was an English travel writer that is best known for
The Road to Oxiana his travelogue. Robert was also an art historian and critic.
He found the subject to match his style of travel writing in Afghanistan and Persia. He finished his account of
The Road to Oxiana in Beijing, his temporary home. His innovation, which set him apart from Peter Fleming, his major travel writing rival, and others was to disregard the conventional continuous narrative.
There is an appreciation of architecture that is a strong element in his writings. He was a forceful advocate for the preservation of historic buildings and was a founder member of the Georgian Group. He also pioneered, as a Philhellene, a renewal of interest in Byzantine history. He’s been described as one of the first and most brilliant of 20th century Philhellenes.
His great (albeit unreciprocated) passion was for Desmond Parsons, the younger brother of the 6th Earl of Rosse, who was regarded as being one of the most charismatic men of his entire generation. They lived together in Peking in 1935, where Parsons developed Hodgkin’s disease, which he died of at 26, which left Robert devastated.
Robert died at the age of 35 in 1941 when the ship he was on got torpedoed while en route to West Africa. He was headed for Egypt and would likely have transshipped on arrival and continued on his journey via the Cape.
The Road to Oxiana is a brilliant account of Robert’s 10 month long journey to Afghanistan and Iran in 1933 and 1934. This classic travelogue is considered by many travel writers to be the very first example of excellent travel writing.
First Russia, Then Tibet was written over the course of several months during 1931 and 1932 when Robert journeyed to three countries, each one teetering on the brink of serious change.
In Russia, which was stricken by famine, Lenin had just died, Stalin’s dictatorship had just begun, and the Great Terror had yet to get started. Having taken the first commercial flight to India, which took an astonishing seven days, Robert was thrown into the tumultuous final years of the British Raj. Gandhi was imprisoned as clashing and rioting between Muslims and Hindus had become commonplace. Lastly, Byron entered Tibet, the forbidden country. Exploring “The Land of Snows”, he saw Tibet like it was when the then Dalai Lama was still ensconced in the Potala Palace, 20 years before China’s invasion.
This book is a first hand account of transformative moments in periods of change and upheaval.
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Robert Byron: F.A.Q
When was Robert Byron Born?
Robert Byron was born on January 1st, 1905.
When did Robert Byron die?
Robert Byron died on February 24th, 1941 at 36 years old.
Where was Robert Byron Born?
Robert Byron was born in Wembley, Middlesex, England.
What was the first book Robert Byron wrote?
The first book written by Robert Byron was Europe in the Looking-Glass, published in 1926.
What was the most recent book Robert Byron wrote?
His most recently released work was The Station of a Faith on February 14th, 2025.
How many books has Robert Byron written?
Robert Byron has written 11 books. All of his books are Non-Fiction Books.