I have a book on my coffee table called The Fortunes of War which was written by Olivia Manning just over half a century ago

Only volume two (The Levant Trilogy) sits in front of me and its battered cover shows a young Harriet Pringle looking into the distance with one of the many Egyptian pyramids in the background

It is obviously a staged photograph as the light is just right and it has a pleasing composition

I have often studied this photograph and wondered what Harriet was thinking about as her face gives no clues

Is she contemplating her journey to Damascus which later causes so much confusion and pain to her husband Guy.

Or do her thoughts travel beyond this and my assumption

Is Harriet looking into the future and considering the changes that have taken place in Egypt since the war

The pyramids are still there but you will not find Harriet and Guy Pringle in Cairo or elsewhere as they are now only memories

Forgotten by those who should have remembered them

Is Egypt a better place or has it just stagnated without its mothers hand

Who am I to answer this question

I have my views which are private to me and I do not suppose they are fashionable in these enlightened times

It is many years since I have read the book but I still keep it on my coffee table to remind me of the order of things

 

 

From The Order of Things by Pip Martin (2013)