He traversed a great part of Persia. He had a good eye for detail and a great appetite for information His was one of the best seventeenth century travel narratives, and became immediately popular on publication.' The Times When first published in 1928, Herbert's work enjoyed immediate success. Considerable interest was being taken in Persia at the time and a full account of the country was welcomed. The narrative is of considerable importance from an historical point of view, as it gives the only detailed account of the first English embassy to Persia. It also paints a graphic picture of the Perisa and the Persians in the early part of the seventeenth century. Having spent over a year in the country, travelling from south to north and back again, there are vivid and extensive descriptions of the towns of Abbas, Lar, Shiraz, Persepolis, Isfahan, Ashraf, Tehran, Qazvin, Qum and Kashan. This edition is based on the revised edition of 1677, but has in turn been edited so that the version reprinted here includes only what the author actually saw or gleaned first hand. The notes include identification of places and a glossary of the strange or obsolete terms.
