Desert Queen: The Extraordinary Life of Adventurer Gertrude Bell

Most people have heard of Lawrence of Arabia, and the romantic tale of his involvement in the revolution that liberated the middle East from Ottoman rule during World war One. But few people are aware that behind TE Lawrence there stood an even greater champion in the cause for freedom. And no, it wasn’t some moustached army general or cigar chomping politician. It was a woman. The first ever to graduate with first class honours from Oxford. One who spoke 6 languages, had climbed the highest mountains in Europe (in her underwear); was an accomplished archaeologist, surveyor and photographer. A scholar of both Arab and Persian ancient poetry, she had conducted six separate expeditions into the forbidding deserts of Mesopotamia and Anatolia; had met virtually every tribal sheikh and warlord in the region and was treated by them as a princess and honoured guest. It was Gertrude Bell who provided accurate maps, intelligence and favourable contacts to both Lawrence and the British High command and was instrumental