While I doubt I would have been friends with Bell if I had known her, I found much to admire and astonish. Here I learned a lot about Arab culture and the history of Western interference in the modern Middle East. Learning from the books I read is important to me. I found the book fascinating and truly difficult to put down. She succeeds in some areas, like politics, more than others, like romance. Rather, Bell is described as a human with flaws who wants to be a Person, to be someone of consequence.
While her story is amazing, Wallach doesn’t present her as Wonder Woman. Ultimately, their efforts led to a newly formed country of Iraq with an Arab, Faisal I, on the throne. She worked with her friend, Lawrence of Arabia, to further the Arab voice in the region. She even earned their respect.ĭuring and after the Great War, she was a champion of self-government by Arab people. She dined with sheiks and caliphs who normally would not discourse with a woman. Here’s my review of Desert Queen: The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell.Īfter teaching herself Arabic, she braved the deserts of pre-World War I Mesopotamia and Arabia with a few servants and her guns. In a day when women were expected to be “politely educated,” married, and subservient, Bell was single, Oxford-educated, a mountain climber, and a desert explorer.
If you use my link, I will receive a small commission at no extra charge. T he following post may contain affiliate links. Desert Queen: The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell: Adventurer, Adviser to Kings, Ally of Lawrence of Arabia by Janet Wallach
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