
Nobleman, writer, adventurer & inspiration for the swashbuckling gun runner in the ” Adventures of Tintin”, Henri de Monfried lived by his own account `a rich, restless, magnificent life` as one of the great travellers of his or any age. Infamous as well as famous, his name is inextricably linked to the Red Sea & the raffish ports between Suez & Aden in the early years of the twentieth century. This is a compelling account of how de Monfried seeks his fortune by becoming a collector & merchant of the fabled Gulf pearls, then is drawn into the shadowy world of arms trading, slavery, smuggling & drugs. Hashish was the drug of choice, & de Monfried writes of sailing to Suez with illegal cargos, dodging blockades & pirates.