A Pilgrimage to Nejd,

Accompanied by a descendant of an ancient family of Nejd which had fled to Syria 100 years earlier, the Blunts crossed the great Nejud desert and explored Nejd. They met the Emir, Muhammed ibn Rashid, who received them courteously, having recently knifed his nephew and cut off the feet of his cousins, leaving them to bleed to death.

Fluent in Arabic as well as several European languages, Lady Anne was the daughter of Ada, Countess of Lovelace, the first computer programmer, and the granddaughter of Lord Byron. She was an accomplished equestrian with a passionate interest in the Arabian horse, which led, with her husband Wilfred's interest in the Middle East, to their many travels in the region. Back in England they founded the Crabbet Park Stud, and today most modern Arabian horses can trace their lines back to Crabbet bred stock.