In Search of Sheba

Introduced by Lois Pryce, author of Lois on the Loose, Red Tape & White Knuckles and Revolutionary Ride.In 1959 Barbara Toy, famous for her solo overland travels in North Africa and Arabia, set out in her trademark Land Rover to drive from Libya to Ethiopia.Alone, she crossed the Sahara Desert and the equatorial forests of the Congo before ascending the highlands of Haile Selassie's empire. Her Ethiopian travels took her from modern Addis Ababa to the ancient ruins of Aksum, through bandit-ridden countryside to the summit of Mount Wehni - where male heirs to the emperor were traditionally imprisoned for life - on a quest to explore the legend of the Queen of Sheba. Full of good humour and grit, In Search of Sheba chronicles a remarkable feat of endurance and adventure by one of the twentieth century's greatest travellers.

Barbara Alex Toy (1908-2001) was born in Australia and moved to England in 1935, working in theatre and film. In 1950, after a bet, she embarked on her first solo expedition, driving a Land Rover (which she named Pollyanna) from Tangier to Baghdad, which launched her career as a travel writer and overlanding pioneer. A Royal Geographical Society Fellow, she completed her second circumnavigation of the world at the age of 81.