Publication

2007-04-17 - Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Language

English

Word Count

128,000 words, Guess

Page Count

512 pages

Identifiers

and 3 more
  • Library of Congress Control Number2006029994
  • Goodreads164972
  • LibraryThing2041110

Classifications

  • LCCDA566.9.B39 H69 2007

Description

She has been called the female Lawrence of Arabia, which, while not inaccurate, fails to give Gertrude Bell her due. She was at one time the most powerful woman in the British Empire: a nation builder, the driving force behind the creation of modern-day Iraq. Born into privilege in 1868, Bell turned her back on Victorian society, choosing to read history at Oxford and going on to become an archaeologist, spy, Arabist, linguist, author, poet, photographer, and mountaineer. She traveled the globe several times, but her passion was the desert--her vast knowledge of the region made her indispensable to the British government during World War I. As an army major on the front lines in Mesopotamia, she supported the creation of an autonomous Arab nation for Iraq, promoting and manipulating the election of King Faisal to the throne and helping to draw the borders of the fledgling state.--From publisher description.

Subjects

Other Editions

  • Gertrude Bell: Queen of the Desert, Shaper of NationsFarrar, Straus and Giroux2007-04-17

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