Tibet, Land of Gentleman Brigands : Retracing the Steps of Alexandra David-Neel

The west of China, crossed in 1920-21 in her first attempt to reach Lhasa.

The region was notorious as the home of tribes reputed to be fierce brigands who plundered the caravans which travelled from China to Lhasa.

It was Alexandra David-Neel's determination to get to Lhasa, the forbidden city, escaping the controls of government officials, that made her decide to venture into this supposedly very dangerous part of the world.

But her journey was also inspired by her craving to encounter different cultures, to travel unknown paths, to get to know the peoples who inhabited the vast solitudes of the plateaus and to become familiar with their traditions and beliefs, rooted in mysticism and magic.

Her greatest regret was that her photographs could not render the splendid colours of their costumes. his book therefore sets out to "add colour" to the impressions of Alexandra David-Neel: it returns to the same places, the same tribes, and does so with the same animating spirit - the desire to encounter and explore different cultures. In its six chapters it retraces the steps of Alexandra David-Neel along an ideal itinerary which - as it switches repeatedly back and forth, from past to present - enables the reader to accompany her on the adventurous journey across the land of gentlemen brigands.