James Morier's
Translated by Mirza Habib Isfahani
Introduction by M. A. Jamalzadeh
Sargozasht-e Haji Baba-ye Isfahani is a translation of James Morier’s
novel, The Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan, by Mirza Habib Isfahani. Morier’s
work, first published in England in 1824, is a picaresque novel rumored to have been based
on the life and character of a prominent figure during the Qajar period, Abolhasan Khan
Ilchi, who served as the Special Iranian Ambassador to England from about 1810 to 1813 and
wrote Heyratnameh [The Book of Wonders], the accounts of his travels to England, which was
recently published in Iran. Morier traveled with Ilchi to England and then accompanied him
back to Iran. Because of this, Morier displays an astonishing knowledge of certain Iranian
customs and beliefs, and is often cognizant of aspects of Iranian life which would have
been inaccessible to non-Iranians, it was also surmised that an Iranian had helped Morier
to write the book. The Persian translation includes many other critical observations of
Iranian life which would not have been known to a non-Iranian author. Initially, it was
thought that the translation was the work of Haji Sheykh Ahmad Ruhi, an outspoken opponent
of the dictatorial regime of the Qajars in Iran. Later, however, this error was rectified
when a letter was discovered that was written by Ruhi to the British Orientalist scholar,
E. G. Browne, in which he states that the translation is the work of Mirza Habib Isfahani
and asks Browne to help publish it.
The importance of Mirza Habib’s translation and its significance
as a literary and social document have been noted by many scholars, including the late
poet-Laureate Bahar, who considered this work one of the masterpieces of the 19th-century
Persian literature. Even though Sargozasht-e Haji Baba-ye Isfahani is a translation, most
Iranians consider it as an original work. This is one of those rare cases in which a
translation far surpasses the original and, indeed, becomes an original work of art.
Specifications:
1996:440 pp., black & white and color plates.
Persian Language Pub. Series, No. 9
ISBN:1-56859-042-3(paper): $24.95Now $15.00
Sargozasht-e Haji Baba-ye Isfahani is a translation of James Morier’s
novel, The Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan, by Mirza Habib Isfahani. Morier’s
work, first published in England in 1824, is a picaresque novel rumored to have been based
on the life and character of a prominent figure during the Qajar period, Abolhasan Khan
Ilchi, who served as the Special Iranian Ambassador to England from about 1810 to 1813 and
wrote Heyratnameh [The Book of Wonders], the accounts of his travels to England, which was
recently published in Iran. Morier traveled with Ilchi to England and then accompanied him
back to Iran. Because of this, Morier displays an astonishing knowledge of certain Iranian
customs and beliefs, and is often cognizant of aspects of Iranian life which would have
been inaccessible to non-Iranians, it was also surmised that an Iranian had helped Morier
to write the book. The Persian translation includes many other critical observations of
Iranian life which would not have been known to a non-Iranian author. Initially, it was
thought that the translation was the work of Haji Sheykh Ahmad Ruhi, an outspoken opponent
of the dictatorial regime of the Qajars in Iran. Later, however, this error was rectified
when a letter was discovered that was written by Ruhi to the British Orientalist scholar,
E. G. Browne, in which he states that the translation is the work of Mirza Habib Isfahani
and asks Browne to help publish it. 
