Sarah Searight is a well-traveled writer and historian, specializing in the Middle East. She comes from a family long involved in the region; her grandmother founded the Brooke Hospital for Animals that operates all over the region, and her father built up a celebrated art collection devoted to the region, now in the V&A. Sarah herself worked for many years as a journalist focusing mainly on regional cultural and economic issues. Previous publications include The British in the Middle East; New Orleans: a historical view; Steaming East: how steam transport developed on ancient trade routes between Europe and India: and Yemen: land and people.