Zahra Freeth facts for kids

Zahra Dickson Freeth (born in 1925 – died May 20, 2015) was a British writer. She mostly wrote books about the Middle East. Her parents were H. R. P. Dickson and Dame Violet Dickson.

Her Life and Discoveries

Zahra Dickson grew up in Kuwait. While living there, she and her family spent time collecting different animals and plants. They sent these specimens to the Natural History Museum and Kew Gardens in London. During their collecting, they made exciting discoveries! They found one plant and two insects that scientists had never seen before. One of these insects, a type of grasshopper, was even named after Zahra: Utubius syriacus zahrae. Today, it's simply known as Utubius syriacus.

Later, Zahra went to boarding schools in England. She studied at Cheltenham Ladies College and then at Girton College at the University of Cambridge.

Her first book, Kuwait Was My Home, came out in 1956. After marrying Richard Freeth, she moved with him to a town called Mackenzie in British Guiana (now Guyana). This town was known for mining a material called bauxite. She wrote about her experiences there in her book Run Softly, Demerara (1960).

Zahra Freeth's later books focused on the Middle East. She even wrote a book for children called Rashid of Saudi Arabia (2001). She lived in Essex, England.

Zahra Freeth passed away on May 20, 2015, after a short illness. People remembered her as a respected author who wrote about Kuwait and Arabia before oil became a major industry there.

Why Her Books Are Important

Zahra Freeth's writings are very helpful for people who study how societies change. For example, her books show how life in Kuwait changed a lot in the 1940s and 1950s, especially after oil was discovered. Her work gives a clear picture of what Kuwait was like before and after these big changes.

Books by Zahra Freeth

• Kuwait Was My Home. London: Allen and Unwin (1956)
• Run Softly, Demerara. London: Allen and Unwin (1960)
• A New Look at Kuwait. London: Allen and Unwin (1972)
• Kuwait: Prospect and Reality. London: Allen and Unwin (1972) with H. V. F. Winstone
• Explorers of Arabia: From Renaissance to the End of the Victorian Era. London: Allen and Unwin (1978) edited by H. V. F. Winstone and Zahra Freeth
• The Arab of the Desert by H. R. P Dickson (1983), 3rd edition revised and abridged; edited by Robert Wilson and Zahra Freeth
• Rashid of Saudi Arabia. Lutterworth Press (2001) with Gordon Stowell
  • Zahra Freeth also wrote the introduction for Traditional Architecture in Kuwait and the Northern Gulf by Ronald Lewcock. London: Art and Archaeology Research Papers and The United Bank of Kuwait (1978)