Veronica Doubleday is a respected ethno-musicologist. She first travelled to Herat with her husband, John Baily, during the main period of his research into traditional Afghan music. She continues to perform the songs she learned in Afghanistan and writes frequently on the country. Since this book was written, she has returned to Herat twice, in 1994 and 2004.
Her understanding of 'purdah' is certainly the most illuminating by any Western writer for a long time. It is in describing the rituals of the day-to-day life of these women that the author excels, all are minutely depicted with a ravishing eye for detail. - Ahmed Rashid