Morier, James

Morier, James noted as the author of a series of novels descriptive of Eastern life and manners, and also for his accurate observations of the East as recorded in his books of travel, was born in England in 1780. When still very young he made an extensive tour through the East, the main incidents of which he described in his Travels through Persia, Armenia, Asia Minor, to Constantinople (Lond. 1812). In 1810 he was appointed British envoy to the court of Persia, where he remained till 1816, and soon after his return he published A Second Journey through Persia, etc. (ibid. 1818). During his stay in the East Morier made great use of his opportunity of studying the character of the people; and the knowledge thus acquired was turned to excellent account in his Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan (1824-28, 5 volumes) (a species of Gil Bias, like Hope's Anastasius), whose "adventures in England" he described in a second series (1834); Zohrab the Hostage; Ayesha, or the Maid of Kara; Abel Alnutt; The Banished, etc.; in all of which, but especially in the first three, the manners, customs, and modes of thought prevalent in the East are portrayed with a liveliness, skill, and truthfulness to nature attained by few. He died in 1848. See the references in Allibone's Dict. of Brit. and Amer. Authors, 2:1368, 1369.