Dervla Murphy b. 1931 Lismore, Ireland
First book: Full Tilt (1965)
Letter from Dervla Murphy to AW - 15th October 2009
As a keen reader of Dervla Murphy's travel books over the years I wrote to her in September 2009 seeking her support for my charity fund raising cycling expedition 'In the Footsteps of T.E. Lawrence'. I was surprized to get a reply, many people did not reply to my letters. After reading her letter I was disheartened by learning of her disapproval of Lawrence. However, over time I have now come to see her letter to me as a generous and kind gesture of which I am grateful.
Dervla's travel books will stand eternally as classics. Particularly, I mension: 'Where the Indus is Young'; 'In Eithiopia With a Mule'; 'Eight Feet in the Andes' and 'Ukimwe Road'.
Dervla Murphy is a great eccentric. I admire the story of her travelling to East Africa for Ukimwe Road with only one shirt in her wardrobe. I saw her in the flesh in the late 90s when I attended a talk she gave at Waterstones bookshop in Manchester while she was promoting Ukimwe Road.
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