Lady E. S. Drower's Scholarly Correspondence ─ An Intrepid English Autodidact in Iraq

Drower (1879-1972) was a self-taught British scholar and novelist who became recognized as an authority on the Middle East generally, but particularly of the Mandaeans, the last living Gnostic Baptists of Iraq and Iran. Also a specialist in the Mandaeans, Buckley (religion, Bowdoin College, Maine) presented edited selections of Drower's correspondence with other scholars from 1938 to the 1960s. They are arranged around her books and activities: Sfar Malwasic; Water into Wine, A Study of Ritual Idiom in the Middle East; A Mandaean Dictionary; a controversial book, a spat, and a prize in the early 1960s; and Mass and Masiqta. Buckley received copies of the letters from Drower's descendants, so this is--and may always be--their only publication. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Jorunn J. Buckley (Ph. D. 1978), a historian of religions, specializing in Gnosticism, especially Mandaeism.. An associate professor at Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine, USA. Author of books and articles in history of religions. Fieldworker among the Mandaeans., particularly in human rights.