Thanks for your interest. Fabri’s journey is indeed a fascinating one!

I’ve been meaning to make an update for some time now. Unfortunately, the publication of Spices, Saints, and Saracens has been cancelled. Fabri often writes disrespectfully (sometimes very disrespectfully) of Muhammad and repeats anti-Islam myths and propaganda common in Europe at the time. The editors at AUCP did not feel comfortable publishing this work in the current climate of sectarian violence without cutting many passages that they thought would cause offense. I feel that excising all these passages and leaving only those that speak kindly of Islam and Muslims would give the false impression that Fabri was an Arabophile, free of prejudice, and better informed about Islam than he was. Also, one of these passages, an “imaginary pilgrimage” to Mecca, is vital to understanding the nature of Fabri’s Wanderings as an imaginary pilgrimage itself. Fabri felt these imaginary pilgrimages were in some ways more valuable than real ones since the reader can go places that were closed to him or her in reality as the Holy Land was to most of his readers and Mecca was to Fabri.

The editors at AUCP were very patient and we both hoped that we might find a compromise. I’m very grateful for all the time and effort that they put into it, and we both regret that we couldn’t find a form that we both felt comfortable with. So, I’m looking for a new publisher and I’m sorry to say that you’ll have to wait a little longer!

Many thanks,
Kimberly Meyer