Bibliograph

Desert queen, the extraordinary life of Gertrude Bell, adventurer, adviser to kings, ally of Lawrence of Arabia, Janet Wallach

Type

Label

Desert queen, the extraordinary life of Gertrude Bell, adventurer, adviser to kings, ally of Lawrence of Arabia, Janet Wallach

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references (p. [399]-407) and index

resource.biographical

individual biography

Illustrations

platesillustrationsmapsgenealogical tables

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

Desert queen

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

61050902

Responsibility statement

Janet Wallach

Sub title

the extraordinary life of Gertrude Bell, adventurer, adviser to kings, ally of Lawrence of Arabia

Summary

Turning away from the privileged world of the "eminent Victorians," Gertrude Bell (1868-1926) explored, mapped, and excavated the world of the Arabs. Recruited by British intelligence during World War I, she played a crucial role in obtaining the loyalty of Arab leaders, and her connections and information provided the brains to match T. E. Lawrence's brawn. After the war, she played a major role in creating the modern Middle East and was, at the time, considered the most powerful woman in the British Empire. In this biography, Janet Wallach shows us the woman behind these achievements - a woman whose passion and defiant independence were at odds wit the confined and custom-bound England she left behind. Too long eclipsed by Lawrence, Gertrude Bell emerges at last in her own right as a vital player on the stage of modern history, and as a woman whose life was both a heartbreaking story and a grand adventure

Table Of Contents

A Victorian -- Of great and honored stock -- A man's world -- An ill-fated marriage -- Flight -- First steps in the desert -- A different challenge -- The desert and the sown -- Women's rights -- Lawrence -- Dick -- Toward Hayil -- Prisoner in Arabia -- Rumblings of war -- A tragic end -- Escape to the East -- A remarkably clever women -- A messy situation -- An independent woman -- Baghdad -- Disarray -- Paris and the Arab question -- The Arab mood -- A change of thinking -- Desert storms -- A taste of England -- The clash -- An unpleasant victory -- Cox returns -- The Cairo Conference -- Resistance -- Faisal -- The King -- Ken -- Farewell to Cox -- Troubles -- To sleep

Classification