George Henry Borrow was a 19th century writer who wrote novels and travelogues based on his travels around Europe. Through his travels Borrow developed a close relationship with the Romani people, which play a prominent role in his book The Bible in Spain and Lavengro. The Zincali - An Account of the Gypsies of Spain was written over a five year period while the author was traveling around Spain. Borrow says of the Gypsies "the Gypsies, who are certainly a very mysterious people come from some distant land, no mortal knows why, and who made their first appearance in Europe at a dark period, when events were not so accurately recorded as at the present time."