Diana Darke: The Merchant of Syria

Diana Darke wrote with great insight about the situation in Syria in her last book, My House in Damascus. Her new book focuses on the inspiring story of cloth merchant Abu Chaker, who supported his mother and sisters from the age of ten and, after surviving instability in Syria and civil war in Lebanon, came to Britain in the 1970s and rescued a failing textile mill, transforming the business into a global brand. The story of Abu’s resilience is interwoven with the rich history of Syria itself.