If you have not yet read Brazilian Adventure or News from Tartary you are in for a roller-coaster of adventure and misadventure. You will also be left in awe at the stamina, bravery, enterprise and self-deprecating humour of Peter Fleming, as well as appreciating the nonchantly camouflaged steel of his ambition.  He is a fascinating example of pluck in whatever extreme situation he finds himself, but always given an individual twist, for his adventurous spirit was married to a rapier-like skill with words and a dedication to the truth. He also had a lifelong delight in the theatre, which he put into practice by marrying one of the great actresses of the age, against the determined opposition of his mother.  His friends recognized this rare combination of physical toughness, literary precision and delight in life by likening him to a figure from Elizabethan times.