Lucie Duff-Gordon

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucie,_Lady_Duff-Gordon

Lucie, Lady Duff-Gordon (1821–1869) was an English author and translator who wrote under the name Lucie Gordon. She is best known for her Letters from Egypt, 1863–1865 (1865) and Last Letters from Egypt (1875).

After moving in a circle of some of the most prominent authors and poets of her day in London, she contracted tuberculosis and in 1861, and went to South Africa for the "climate", which she hoped would help her health, living near the Cape of Good Hope for several years before travelling to Egypt in 1862.

In Egypt, she settled in Luxor, where she learned Arabic and wrote many letters to her husband and her mother about her observations of Egyptian culture, religion and customs. Many critics regard her as being "progressive" and tolerant, although she also held problematic views on various racial groups. Her letters home are celebrated for their humour, her outrage at the ruling Ottomans, and many personal stories gleaned from the people around her. In many ways they are also typical of Orientalist travellers' tales of that time.

Most of the letters are addressed to her husband,Alexander Duff-Gordon and her mother, MrsSarah Austin.