Vakhterova, E.O.: Across the Desert. Story of a Traveller

Title

Po pustyne. Rasskaz puteshestvennika, Moskva-Leningrad 1925 (first edition: 1900)

Across the Desert. Story of a Traveller

Keywords

Summary

The book includes five illustrations and tells the fictional story of a traveller’s journey to the Sahara desert. The tone is informative and aimed at children; the narrator depicts the harsh conditions of the desert, its climate, flora and fauna, and the numerous perils that await travellers. In the beginning, he describes the majesty of the pyramids before entering the vast desert. The narrator explains the intense heat, the difficulty of moving in the sand (which is why camels are called “ships of the desert”), and the phenomenon of mirages. Subsequently, the imaginary caravan encounters a group of giraffes, and soon they reach a real oasis where there is life and water. Here, the narrator meets some Tuaregs, who are friendly and exchange gifts with the travellers. When they depart the oasis, the wind, Samoom, begins to blow, and a sandstorm starts. Fortunately, everyone survives the storm, and the caravan successfully crosses the desert.

Bio

Emilia Vakhterova was a Russian pedagogue and author. She organised free schools for adults and children, worked as a teacher, and advocated for freedom of education. This professional activity was documented in her memoirs written in the tradition of narodist writers (Diary of a Sunday School Teacher and Other Works, Moscow 2020). Together with her husband Vasilii Vakhterov (1853-1924) she edited a collection of stories for children, The World in Children’s Stories (1913). Her diaries from the early 1890’s are present in the archives of the Russian State Library and can be consulted online https://corpus.prozhito.org/person/5113 (accessed July 26, 2024).

Sources

P. Gornostaev, Razvivajushchaia pedagogika V. P. Vahterova (k 150-letiiu so dnia rozhdeniia), “Pedagogika”, 2003, 4, p. 75-81;

Iu. Kurovskaia, “Ia znaiu – gorod budet. Ia znaiu – sadu zvest’”. Obraz goroda v “Mire v rasskazakh dlia detej” V. i E. Vakhterovykh, “Tsennosti i smysly”, 2020, 6, p. 141-152.

M.E.

Gallery