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Published 2013 by Pyr®, an imprint of Prometheus Books

Cover illustration © Jon Sullivan

Cover design by Jacqueline Nasso Cooke

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The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:

Hodder, Mark, 1962–

The secret of Abdu El Yezdi : a Burton and Swinburne adventure / By Mark Hodder.

pages cm.

ISBN 978-1-61614-777-8 (pbk. )

ISBN 978-1-61614-778-5 (ebook)

I.   Title.

PR6108. O28S43   2012

823'. 92—dc23

2013010096

Printed in the United States of America

Writing is a solitary business at the best of times, but when deadlines draw near, one is forced into prolonged seclusion. During these periods, on the infrequent occasions when I’ve emerged from my study, bearded, unwashed, and with a crazed glint in my eyes, my beautiful partner, Yolanda, has fed me and talked soothingly until the twitching has stopped. What small measure of sanity I still possess must be credited to her.

My gratitude, also, to Lou Anders and the Pyr team in the US, and Michael Rowley and the Del Rey team in the UK. Your faith in me and your continued support are hugely appreciated.

Many of the characters featured in this novel bear the same names as—and similar personalities and histories to—people who actually lived. However, as will quickly become apparent, the 1859 of this story is not the 1859 you’ll discover in history books.

If a person whose life is well documented had been presented with completely different opportunities and challenges, would they have turned out the same? In The Secret of Abdu El Yezdi, the answer to that question is a resounding, “No!” Thus, though my characters are intended to evoke their famous counterparts, their portrayal is not in any way biographical. In an attempt to compensate for any disrespect I may have shown them, I’ve included brief factual information at the end of this book, which I hope will encourage my readers to explore the real histories of the truly remarkable and admirable men and women featured herein.

“Unjust it were to bid the World be just

And blame her not: She ne’er was made for justice:

Take what she gives thee, leave all grief aside,

For now to fair and then to foul her lust is. ”

—A THOUSAND NIGHTS AND A NIGHT,

TRANSLATED BY SIR RICHARD FRANCIS BURTON

“When one creates phantoms for oneself, one puts vampires into the world, and one must nourish these children of a voluntary nightmare with one’s blood, one’s life, one’s intelligence, and one’s reason, without ever satisfying them. ”