Susan Hillyard – Before the Oil – A Personal Memoir of Abu Dhabi
AED1,100
A rare memoir by Susan Hillyard (1926-2014), one of the first Western women to live in Abu Dhabi in the 1950s.
Her diaries covers the period from 1954 to 1958, prior to the rapid development of the Emirate that came following the development of the oil industry.
They provide a valuable record of the period, including of local society, customs, buildings, childcare and day-to-day life in the town. Hillyard was encouraged by Sheikh Zayed to write the book, and notes that the manuscript was edited by Sheikh Nahayan bin Nahayan, then chancellor of Emirates University.
Hillyard moved to Abu Dhabi in 1954 with her young daughter and husband, Tim, who was working in the oil industry.
Hardback. In very good condition. 236 pages with B&W illustrations including a frontispiece of Sheikh Shakhbout. Published by Ashridge Press in 2002.
