The final volume in the Abinger Edition of Forster's work includes Alexandria: a History and a Guide, written when Forster was working in the city for the Red Cross during the First World War, and Pharos and Pharillon, a collection of essays and sketches written during the same period for the local press, and similarly informed by the remarkable range of historical, theological and philosophical reading to which Forster devoted himself when preparing his 'sort of guide'.<BR>The first part of Alexandria unfolds a personal history of the city, from its foundation by Alexander the Great in 331 BC, through the Ptolomies and Cleopatra, Roman, Arab and Turkish occupation, and Napoleon's disastrous Egyptian campaign, to the cosmopolitan city of the early twentieth century. The primary focus, though, is on Alexandria's Golden Age, its poets, philosophers and scientists, which for Forster ended with the Arab conquest in the seventh century. In the Guide section he takes us on a personal tour of the city and its environs, reanimating ancient Alexandria as he wanders through the busy modern streets. 'Alexandria' he concludes, 'is still alive and alters when one tries to sum her up.'