Influence of the Pierre Loti's private and work life on formation of themes and characters in his stories

Among French writers, Pierre Loti was a of rare ones who, because of his position as a navigation officer, traveled around the world and visited many countries and enjoyed other peoples’ customs. Mixing his fine and detailed observations of these real travels to his poetic imagination, he wrote unique stories in an agreeable prose. Loti is not unknown in Iran. Though he is generally considered as an Orientalist, but his knowledge about Iran and some other countries was limited to a superficial and quick glance. In fact, the reputation of Loti is, above all, for his lyrical works, especially the description of landscapes and characters. Given the very few Persian sources -except the introduction of Mohammad Mehryar in the second edition of the book Towards Ispahan- and sometimes superficial and incomplete information in some articles in a number of publications and websites in Persian language, this article attempts to give a better understanding of this famous writer and more comprehensive information about topics and sources of inspiration on his fictional characters.