The book was awarded the Somerset Maugham Prize in England (1994). One of the main motivations for this journey was Mandelstam’s “Journey to Armenia.” Philip Marsden is an Englishman, traveler and author of the books “The Bronski House” ”) and “Dukhobortsy” (“The Spirit-Wrestlers and Other Survivors of the Russian Century”) (the book received the Thomas Cook and Daily Telegraph awards for the best travel book). Marsden's works have been translated into nine languages. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and lives in Cornwall. Marsden is one of the founders of Travel Intelligence, a travel publishing company.