A Woman in Arabia: The Writings of the Queen of the Desert

by Gertrude Bell, Georgina Howell (Editor), Georgina Howell (Introduction)

Overview

A portrait in her own words of the female Lawrence of Arabia, the subject of the PBS documentary Letters from Baghdad, voiced by Tilda Swinton, and the major motion picture Queen of the Desert, starring Nicole Kidman, James Franco, Damian Lewis, and Robert Pattinson and directed by Werner Herzog

Gertrude Bell was leaning in 100 years before Sheryl Sandberg. One of the great woman adventurers of the twentieth century, she turned her back on Victorian society to study at Oxford and travel the world, and became the chief architect of British policy in the Middle East after World War I. Mountaineer, archaeologist, Arabist, writer, poet, linguist, and spy, she dedicated her life to championing the Arab cause and was instrumental in drawing the borders that define today’s Middle East.
 
As she wrote in one of her letters, “It’s a bore being a woman when you are in Arabia.” Forthright and spirited, opinionated and playful, and deeply instructive about the Arab world, this volume brings together Bell’s letters, military dispatches, diary entries, and travel writings to offer an intimate look at a woman who shaped nations.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,800 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101636954
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	08/11/2015
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Gertrude Bell (1868–1926) was one of the first women to be made a Commander of the British Empire. Her statesmanship paved the way for the creation of an independent Iraq.

Georgina Howell (editor) wrote the acclaimed biography Gertrude Bell: Queen of the Desert, Shaper of Nations.

Read an Excerpt

From the Trade Paperback edition.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Her letters are exactly herself—eager, interested, almost excited. . . . She kept an everlasting freshness; or at least, however tired she was, she could always get up enough interest to match that of anyone who came to see her. I don’t think I ever met anyone more entirely civilized, in the sense of her width of intellectual sympathy.” —T. E. Lawrence

Editorial Reviews

06/01/2015
This tantalizing collection of excerpts from letters, diaries, and other assorted publications provides a fascinating glimpse into the life of Gertrude Lowthian Bell (1868–1926), one of England’s most famous adventurers. Biographer Howell (Gertrude Bell: Queen of the Desert, Shaper of Nations) grounds the selections with a family chronology and a narrative introduction of Bell’s unconventional Victorian life. Bell’s own words, especially when presented in generously sized selections, showcase a personality and intellect that glittered like the sun-drenched Arabian sands. An Arabist and linguist, she developed a facility for six languages, including Arabic and Persian—skills that allowed her to write fine translations of Persian poetry. But mostly Bell was an adventurer, and readers will accompany her on some of her most daring exploits: climbing the Swiss Alps, journeying through the Syrian desert, and digging for archeological treasure in Iraq. She documented and mapped her travels for the British Foreign Office—information that became crucial with the outbreak of WWI in 1914—and worked at the Arab Intelligence Bureau in Cairo with T.E. Lawrence, aiming to rebuild the Arab world with repercussions that would reach far into the next century. This is a nifty little volume that illuminates a remarkable life. Maps. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

A fascinating read . . . The story that emerges is thought-provoking. . . . Gertrude’s legacy makes easy parallels to the present, from world powers trying to determine the political shape of the Middle East to women’s struggles to be taken seriously by male colleagues. In A Woman in Arabia, she faces it all with humor, passion, and candor; even a century on, she’s a woman worth knowing.” —NPR.org

“[A] well-chosen selection from [the] letters and memoirs [of] one of the most remarkable figures of the late 19th and early 20th century . . . Bell might be regarded as the much happier, female equivalent of T. E. Lawrence, who knew and admired her.” —The Washington Post

“I hope this collection of Bell’s prose, more than the upcoming film by Werner Herzog, stirs up controversy about her time as an archaeologist and spy and spearhead of post-WWI British policy in the Middle East, the effects of which can still be felt today.” —Jonathan Sturgeon, Flavorwire’s “10 Must-Read Books for August”

“Luckily for those of us who are unfamiliar with Gertrude Bell, there comes A Woman in Arabia . . . a collection of Bell in her own words, helpfully annotated.” —The Daily Beast

“Bell’s letters . . . are as rich in ethnographic detail as any of the great nineteenth-century European travelogues, but chattier—devoid of the heroic rhetoric of T. E. Lawrence’s Seven Pillars of Wisdom. . . . [They] capture both her charisma and the intensely social character of her time in the Middle East. Like the State Department cables released by WikiLeaks in recent years, Bell’s archive of correspondence is a reminder of the daily disorder obscured by other political documents: maps, treaties, bulletins.” —The New Yorker

“A fascinating glimpse at [Bell’s] larger-than-life personality . . . Timely and timeless . . . The genius of this collection is letting Bell tell her story in her own words—just as her fiercely independent spirit would have wanted. Impossible to put down, the book reads a bit like a travelog, part humorous wit and part educational lecture, allowing the reader an in-depth look at the life of a true heroine and the time period she inhabited and conquered. . . . A must-have for every library.” —Library Journal, starred review

“An impressive anthology . . . Howell brings the ‘female Lawrence of Arabia’ to life through judicious selections from Bell’s massive public writings and personal papers. . . . Bell comes across as a compassionate, erudite quasi-diplomat worthy of great admiration.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Tantalizing . . . Fascinating . . . Bell’s own words showcase . . . a personality and intellect that glittered like the sun-drenched Arabian sands. . . . Readers will accompany her on some of her most daring exploits. . . . This is a nifty little volume that illuminates a remarkable life.” —Publishers Weekly

“Her letters are exactly herself—eager, interested, almost excited. . . . She kept an everlasting freshness; or at least, however tired she was, she could always get up enough interest to match that of anyone who came to see her. I don’t think I ever met anyone more entirely civilized, in the sense of her width of intellectual sympathy.” —T. E. Lawrence

From the Publisher

★ 06/15/2015
A true Renaissance woman, Bell (1868–1926) was as involved in the formation of Iraq as T.E. Lawrence (Seven Pillars of Wisdom) but is surprisingly lesser known. The selected excerpts featured here are taken from Bell's more than 16,000 letters and eight books, providing a fascinating glimpse at her larger-than-life personality. Editor Howell (Gertrude Bell: Queen of the Desert, Shaper of Nations) divides the work into segments, each illustrating a particular field that Bell not only dabbled in but mastered. The chapters include letters and writings regarding her intrepid mountain climbing experiences ("The Mountaineer"), her mastery of multiple languages ("The Linguist"), and her various travels into the heart of Arabia ("The Desert Traveler"). The genius of this collection is letting Bell tell her story in her own words—just as her fiercely independent spirit would have wanted. Impossible to put down, the book reads a bit like a travelog, part humorous wit and part educational lecture, allowing the reader an in-depth look at the life of a true heroine and the time period she inhabited and conquered. VERDICT In light of the 2015 film Queen of the Desert based on Bell's life, this timely and timeless compilation is a must-have for every library.—Stacy Shaw, Orange, CA

Library Journal

Gertrude Bell was an extraordinary Englishwoman—a traveler, mountaineer, archaeologist, nation-builder. Georgina Howell arranges Bell’s letters, diaries, and book excerpts thematically and provides a descriptive context around them. Narrator Sian Thomas reads Bell’s writings with spirit, wit, and sincerity. She underscores Bell’s broken heart when her great love is killed at Gallipoli in WWI. Bell’s determination to see Iraq become a self-governing nation is also made clear. Adjoa Andoh exhibits crispness, authority, and not a small amount of empathy as she narrates the background material. Both women have voices suited to the pluck and intelligence of their subject. Their comfort with myriad Middle Eastern place names as well as French and Swiss mountains is quite remarkable. While they sound somewhat similar to each other, this is a minor quibble in an otherwise excellent and erudite production. A.B. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

APRIL 2016 - AudioFile

Gertrude Bell was an extraordinary Englishwoman—a traveler, mountaineer, archaeologist, nation-builder. Georgina Howell arranges Bell’s letters, diaries, and book excerpts thematically and provides a descriptive context around them. Narrator Sian Thomas reads Bell’s writings with spirit, wit, and sincerity. She underscores Bell’s broken heart when her great love is killed at Gallipoli in WWI. Bell’s determination to see Iraq become a self-governing nation is also made clear. Adjoa Andoh exhibits crispness, authority, and not a small amount of empathy as she narrates the background material. Both women have voices suited to the pluck and intelligence of their subject. Their comfort with myriad Middle Eastern place names as well as French and Swiss mountains is quite remarkable. While they sound somewhat similar to each other, this is a minor quibble in an otherwise excellent and erudite production. A.B. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

APRIL 2016 - AudioFile

2015-05-14
Gertrude Bell (1868-1926) shattered gender stereotypes while influencing British policy in the Middle East, particularly in the areas in and around present-day Iraq. Editor Howell (Gertrude Bell: Queen of the Desert, Shaper of Nations, 2007) brings the "female Lawrence of Arabia" to life through judicious selections from Bell's massive public writings and personal papers. Howell has arranged the text of her anthology by subject, ranging from Bell's talents as a poet and a linguist to her skills as a nation builder and kingmaker. Moving away from the realms of the arts and of policy, Howell also provides insights into Bell's love life, mostly through her subject's own words. The overall effect is a biography of sorts, but it's told from a vastly different perspective than traditional biographies of Bell by Howell and by Janet Wallach (Desert Queen, 1996). The truism that the past is prologue comes alive through Bell's adventures, especially her observation that trying to create a cohesive nation from the shards that became Iraq made no sense. Bell considered herself a citizen diplomat rather than a politician. She was suspicious of politicians, wondering if they ever abandoned self-interest. In Howell's biography of Bell, and even more so in this anthology, Bell comes across as a compassionate, erudite quasi-diplomat worthy of great admiration. Unlike so many of the rigid diplomats and politicians making decisions in England on the basis of a colonial mindset, Bell spoke the languages of those she wanted to help, all the better to gain reliable intelligence and establish trust. In addition to an introduction, Howell also includes a helpful chronology of her subject's life. An impressive anthology by a scholar who knows how to separate the wheat from the chaff within the massive amount of primary source material Bell left behind at her death.

Kirkus Reviews