author
Francis Henry Skrine
1847–1933
Best known for writing on Central Asia, imperial history, and religion, this English traveler and civil servant brought a wide-ranging curiosity to everything he published. His books mix the eye of an administrator with the interests of a historian, making them useful snapshots of late 19th- and early 20th-century thinking.
1 Audiobook
The heart of Asia : A history of Russian Turkestan and the Central Asian Khanates from the earliest times
by Francis Henry Skrine, Sir E. Denison (Edward Denison) Ross
About the author
Born in 1847, Francis Henry Bennett Skrine was an English traveller, orientalist, and official in British India. He spent part of his career in the Indian Civil Service, and that experience seems to have shaped the practical, wide-angle view found in much of his writing.
Skrine wrote across several subjects rather than staying in one narrow lane. His known works include The Heart of Asia, written with Edward Denison Ross, as well as The Expansion of Russia, 1815–1900, Bahaism, the Religion of Brotherhood and Its Place in the Evolution of Creeds, Tales of Bengal, and India's Hope. Taken together, they show an author interested in history, empire, Central Asia, India, and comparative religion.
He died in 1933. While he is not as widely read now as some of his contemporaries, his books still attract readers looking for older historical writing on Central Asia and the British imperial world.