DAMMAM, 3 March — Mary Beardwood, a teacher from England who taught in the Middle East for over twenty years, had many frustrating moments when she needed facts on Arabia. “My students could not find books in the library which would give them information about the Arabian Peninsula. I wished that somebody would write a book which had some useful and accurate information”.
It has been a long wait but it finally ended in 2001. And it was Mary herself who wrote the book 23 years after she had first arrived in the Arab world, in Oman in 1978!
It took Mary Beardwood three years of research to produce The Children’s Encyclopaedia of Arabia. It is the first book of its kind geared to children eleven years and older. The 157-page encyclopedia is remarkable; it is attractive, colorful and easy to read. It also contains a well of information.
The book is divided into four main sections dealing with Arabia in the past, the coming of Islam, Arabian flora and fauna and finally, the discovery of oil.
Mary Beardwood was in the Kingdom recently to promote her book and share the joys and frustrations of writing an encyclopaedia about a peninsula where information was not always easy to come by.
She said she found archeological research the most difficult with everyone having their own opinion and everyone contradicting everyone else.
“Even when I was researching the best way to trap a falcon I was surprised by the range of information available. Everyone gave a different version so I finally wrote ‘There are many ways of catching a falcon and here are two.’ She also encountered some unusual problems.
For instance, on one map of the Arab world, one country did not want its borders shown with its neighbors. The neighbors, on the other hand, insisted on the borders being shown.
The final solution was to print an edition, which showed borders for those who wanted them and left them off for those who did not want them.
It was not easy to write about Saudi Arabia since she lacked the contacts to get a visa! “I got most of my information about the Kingdom from the Saudi Cultural Office in Dubai which I discovered during the Dubai Festival. They had a booth there and I was given all kinds of help and the use of the cultural office’s library.” She took great care with the information in the book. She was very careful about the authenticity of her material. “I talked to people who were recognized authorities in their fields and cross checked the information with several sources.”
Commenting on the size of the book, which seemed small for an encyclopaedia, Mary said, “I could have gone on writing, but I had to stop somewhere and publish the book. Also after three years I felt I was ready.
Some people have suggested that I should write in more detail about some of the things that could be expanded, such as the Arabian heritage.”
Mary said that at she had begun alone, but by the time she finished, she had over 100 people helping her. “It became a community project.” There are spectacular photographs in the book with most of them coming from amateur photographers who gave them to Mary in appreciation of her work. She also got a lot of advice and even took some, “A museum curator told me if you want to know about the Arab world, you must visit Yemen. I took his advice and was truly and pleasantly surprised to see how fertile Yemen was in terms of culture and civilization.”
Finding a publisher was also an initial problem. “But I was lucky. JK Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter books, was rejected by eight publishers before she was accepted. I was accepted by the second publisher I talked to.”
The book has been well received. “I knew that there was a great need for a children’s encyclopaedia about the Arab world but I did not envision such success.” One compliment, which touched her immensely was from an Omani man who told her, “Thank you for caring about Arabia.”
The Children’s Encyclopaedia of Arabia was first published in October 2001, with 5000 copies but there was such a demand that the book was reprinted after only three months.
“My trip to Saudi Arabia, which is my first, has been very successful. We brought in a number of copies that we thought we would sell; however, more had to be quickly shipped in as the demand grew.”
Mary Beardwood’s visit to Saudi Arabia was very pleasant for another reason: “I visited a local village and in the market I saw women weaving palm leaves and making things. I included a picture of that in the encyclopedia. I was happy to see that this tradition has not died out.”
Some critics have objected to the name of the book; they thought it was not only for “children but that it also appealed to a wider audience. Mary defended the title, “Of course, adults can read the book as well and benefit from it but because I am a teacher, I thought of children first which is why I wanted the book to be classified as a children’s book. I’m happy with the title, “Children’s Encyclopaedia of Arabia”.
Another critic felt that Mary was wrong in not mentioning slavery, which persisted in some parts of the Arab world until the 1960’s. She answered that she thought slavery would be too controversial and might harm sales so she played it safely.
Will the encyclopaedia prove popular with today’s children who often don’t read books and who rely on the Internet for much of their information? Mary said that in fact when she visited schools during the book promotion and interacted with school children, they always thought she had got all her information from the Internet. “I tell them, ‘Type in Arabia and you will be surprised at what you find. There’s a lot of business information but there is very little about history or heritage.
There is also no guarantee about the accuracy of information on the Internet. I always encourage children to read rather than download for their class projects. I’ve had favorable comments from my young readers and they love the pictures in the book.”
Mary Beardwood is very happy with her success. “It’s a pleasure when your hopes become reality! I am also enjoying being an author: It is very satisfying.”
The Children’s Encyclopedia is available in bookstores such as Jarir and costs SR115.
