Books like The Mistress of Abha by Newton, William

Ivor Willoughby, a young Orientalist, sets out to find his father, Robert, a British Army officer who vanished after a single visit to the Arabian deserts. Robert has returned to England only once, exhausted and wild‑eyed, and has never been heard from again. Ten years later, Ivor travels from Cairo to Abha in Yemen, and along the Red Sea coast, joining the Locust Bureau and seeking clues about his father’s fate. Along the way he learns of Na’ema, a former slave turned woman‑warrior, whose story may be linked to the mystery of his father. Ivor’s journey also leads him to the misty heights of Ayinah in search of an Abyssinian seer rumored to have shared a slave ship with Na’ema in 1914. Through these adventures, the novel portrays the Empire of the early twentieth century, the daring of its explorers, and the powerful, unexpected heroine who emerges.

First publish date: 2010