A short life of the author
Colin Thubron (b. 14 June 1939) was born in London. He is descended from John Dryden. He has traveled extensively throughout Asia and the former Soviet Union, often alone and on foot. He was president of the Royal Society of Literature.
Life and Career
Thubron’s early books focused on the Middle East — Mirror to Damascus (1967), The Hills of Adonis (1968) — but he found his essential subject in Russia and Central Asia. Among the Russians (1983) — about driving through the Soviet Union alone — and Behind the Wall (1987) — about traveling through China — established him as the foremost literary travel writer of his generation.
In Siberia (1999) — perhaps his finest single book — follows a journey across the vastness of Siberia from the Urals to the Pacific. Shadow of the Silk Road (2006) traces the ancient route from Xi’an to the Mediterranean. To a Mountain in Tibet (2011) — a short, meditative account of a pilgrimage to Mount Kailas — is his most personal work, written in the aftermath of his mother’s death.
Major Works and Themes
Thubron writes about place, history, and the encounter between cultures. His prose is precise, evocative, and shaped by genuine scholarship — he reads the languages of the places he visits. He is also a novelist; A Cruel Madness (1984) won the Silver Pen Award.
Key Works
- In Siberia (1999)
- Shadow of the Silk Road (2006)
- To a Mountain in Tibet (2011)
Collecting Thubron
Mirror to Damascus first edition (Heinemann, 1967) brings $100–$200. Later titles (Chatto & Windus, Heinemann) bring $20–$50 signed. Thubron has a devoted collecting following in the UK.