Gertrude Bell: Queen of the Desert, Shaper of Nations by Georgina Howell

Jan 30, 2008 Dan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Brisk, well-written bio of the early 20th century British traveler, explorer and later diplomat who helped shape the modern Middle East. A bit hagiographic -- ignoring the fact that the states she helped to forge were not real nations and therefore contained the seeds of modern conflicts -- it is nonetheless fascinating, as is its subject.

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Nov 20, 2008 Sandie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Sandie by: Dinner book group

Shelves: book-group

Gertrude Bell was a very, very interesting woman. This book could have been good, but bordered on hagiography. The author felt compelled to add every single detail of her research and the result is nearly 450 very crowded pages. The writing was not that good, the author's background is as a writer for fashion magazines. Since I had earlier read the Janet Wallach bio, I skipped around in this and only read chapters or parts of chapters that were of interest to me.

GB was a fearless woman, who tra...more

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Jan 14, 2008 Jessica rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: history buffs

Shelves: history, mid-east

Fascinating account of a pretty amazing woman. Growing up in Victorian England, Bell received a First at Oxford, became an accomplished mountaineer, and traveled extensively through the desert in Syria and Iraq. Her most noted accomplishment was her involvement in the Arab Revolt during World War I and helping to create an Iraqi nation under the British mandate.

Well-written, well researched - Howell integrates lots of primary sources into her text, but it's not detracting and adds a lot to the...more

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Feb 24, 2008 Alex rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history-of-the-middle-east

This was an excellent account of a fascinating (and totally bad-ass) woman. Part of her amazingness is that what she did, and how she did it, and how her life went, was something that could have only happened during the narrow window in which she lived; she pretty much single handedly caused Britain to not force the newly-born Iraq into becoming part of Saudi Arabia, but thought womens' suffragists were kind of silly. I wish the book had talked more about politics, rather than focusing so on her...more

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May 07, 2013 Quinby6696 Frank rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really enjoyed this book about a most extraordinary woman. Gertrude Bell was way ahead of her time. Born in 1868 into a wealthy British family, she scorned the life of debutante balls and society. She took a first at Oxford in only 2 years - the first woman to do so. She climbed all the important peaks in the Alps - almost dying several times in her attempts. Most of all, she was the driving force behind the foundation of modern Iraq, lending her expertise with the desert tribes to the British...more

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Jan 28, 2013 Maria rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A thorough and remarkably readable biography of an extraordinary life. Until I began wondering why someone would make a film about this woman, friend to Lawrence of Arabia, I had never heard of Gertrude Bell ("Queen of the Desert", dir. by Werner Herzog, slated for filming in 2013). By the time I finished the first chapter of this book, I was upset that I had not kown of her earlier! Ahead of her time, a strong-willed, educated, intelligent woman, Ms. Bell seems to have met every prominent perso...more

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Jul 01, 2012 Kathlyn rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

2.5*

I had a number of issues with this book. Firstly, as others have said, it borders on hagiography. The writing is mediocre and the structure of the book is awkward - the way it is is sectioned makes for repetitious reading. The only section of the book that is written chronologically is the one that deals with the creation of Iraq. This leaves the reader constantly second guessing time frames or rereading the same information in multiple contexts. The book is factually inaccurate in places, o...more

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Feb 25, 2013 Ramya rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Well written and paced autobiography by Howell of a woman who history, as usual, has failed to recognize as likely more important than even T.E. Lawrence in making "nations" as the Empire (British) tried to organize and politicize the Arabian continent in the early 1900s. Her writing, political, and shrewd ability to understand cultures vastly different from her middle-upper class British upbringing are truly remarkable. And truly a woman with deep scars both personally and publically enough so...more

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Jul 11, 2008 Kelley rated it 4 of 5 stars

Non-fiction. Gertrude Bell was an amazing woman at a time when it was much more difficult for women to be amazing outside of their homes or roll of wife/mother. Gertrude disregarded all expectations of herself and did as she damn well pleased. In the process she helped to establish the country of Iraq. This book will also give you a better understanding of the history of Iraq, it's Kings and warlords.

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Mar 14, 2013 Kay rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Not done yet--reading Howell simultaneously with Janet Wallach's Desert Queen. So happy to have found the two biographies of Gertrude Bell, done ten years apart, one illuminating the other so well, and different pictures to look at. I read a chunk of the Wallach and get the skeleton, then go read the same scenes in Howell and get the meat. For example, turning to a new chapter in Gertrude's life, the Wallach chapter is "Escape to the East" and the Howell "Cairo, Delhi, Basra." Looking on to Gert...more Not done yet--reading Howell simultaneously with Janet Wallach's Desert Queen. So happy to have found the two biographies of Gertrude Bell, done ten years apart, one illuminating the other so well, and different pictures to look at. I read a chunk of the Wallach and get the skeleton, then go read the same scenes in Howell and get the meat. For example, turning to a new chapter in Gertrude's life, the Wallach chapter is "Escape to the East" and the Howell "Cairo, Delhi, Basra." Looking on to Gertrude's desert life, I imagine the ostentatious colonialism with which a lone woman in an immense desert dines in her small tent on linen tablecloths, silver place settings, crystal stemware and Wedgewood china. Perhaps as in all Asia, Middle and Far, the sheikhs judge one by possessions and gifts and treat one accordingly. And that could be a motivation for the linens, and china and silver. That and being the foreigner. Not being more desert than the desert people. Being the expat, the one who does not fit. And yet her real secret is that while being herself with luxurious baggage, because after all the tents of the sheikhs were luxury itself, she showed great respect to the local people and exquisite manners toward the sheikhs and other powerful figures and spoke and read their language. How she marks her identity with her clothes, and who washes and irons them? How badly do the trunks and boxes stink? What does she do for sanitary supplies? I would like to see photos of her baggage being carried by the camels! The Howell book is so much more detailed than Wallach's "just the facts, ma'm," and I loved that Howell gives us telling details like, "She didn't know it, but Hayyil was to be her last desert expedition." And I am so struck by her realization as a young woman in the midst of plenty and able to indulge her extraordinary drive to the East, that the question was "how her time and resources should properly be used. She fluctuated between pursuing personal fulfillment and devoting her energies to serving the community for no reward." And then, the solitude of the desert that brings a long meditation and path to wisdom and a sort of satori, and the moment when "I have known loneliness in solitude now for the first time. . . ." So as a woman and an expat and a loner, one who does not fit and is only at home in places where obviously not fitting is a benefit, I have to wonder if she wrote more in her letters and diaries than endlessly about her own states of soul, and that a male biographer would have given us a different Gertrude altogether. No matter how it is recounted, Gertrude's life covered what would ordinarily be several people's lifetimes: climbing the highest peaks of the Alps as the first to conquer them, crossing deserts as the single non-Arab in thousands of miles, European War Office work organizing data of the wounded and dead and compassionately informing families, through all her life having men who were deep friends and the few who were deep loves, and being a force in the all-male world of international government. I cannot agree with those who dismiss these bios as hagiographic, for, if anything, they are lower-keyed than the reality must have been. Gertrude captivated me because she had no use for position or corridors of paperwork power in central places, but wanted to be out in the country, for "here the material was all raw, fresh, firsthand." And for all Howell's wealth of detail and setting of full scenes, Wallach scores with the bon mot: Gertrude visits all the native homes on her own fluttering about "like a young bird in spring"; or listens to the gossip buzzing "like worker bees in a rose garden." And people gather around the sheikh's "coffee hearth." And how I hope the movie is the one with Angelina Jolie and not Naomi Watts.
Now finished the two bios and sit here wishing I could have been at one of Gertrude Bell's dinner parties, had tea with her, or ridden across a desert on a camel with her--and, [in Howell] as the Times of India said of her after her death in 1926, highlighting how little we Anglos learned from her lifetime among the people of Iraq and all the countries around it--"While the British appreciated her as author, traveller and archaeologist, they remained to the end ignorant of the 'astounding position she had built up for herself in Iraq, a position which has made her responsible, more than any other single individual, for the shape and appearance of modern Iraq as it stands today.'" Yes, bloggers among us say she, like TE Lawrence, was one of those “sand-mad Britons”--and we see the blinders of prejudice that have brought round after round of hot-headed horror to the area that could have been a good place to live. Now we are looking over the 10 years since our last Iraqi War, fought with lessons unlearned..... ah Gertrude--finished your bio on International Women's Day....
How Gertrude ended, she said, at one point, "You understand, I was Someone once." Earlier in life she delightedly announced, "I am a Person." And, yes, indeed, she was.(less)

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Dec 23, 2012 Luci rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a fantastically researched biographical work. It is very in-depth and the research is extremely scholarly. However, my only complaint with this work is that in several places in the book, the timeline is rather fuzzy. I understand that the author is trying to explain certain points of Gertrude's life with more clarity, but it does make it a little difficult to understand when certain things are happening and within what context, i.e. her relationships with men as well as her experiences...more

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Feb 22, 2010 Maggie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Maggie by: Charles Collins

I was dubious about this book as I had not selected it for myself and it wasn't really about something I thought I was interested in. But the life of Gertrude Bell, one of the founders of Iraq was quite interesting. She was a non-feminist feminist, an adventurous dutiful daughter, in a world made for men. I learned a lot about her life, the times she lived in and through (WWI and the aftermath of that), and the impact of those historical currents and events on the life of privilege she lead. No...more

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Aug 21, 2011 Olduvai rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: library, 2011, book-lust-to-go, non-fiction

And that then is my reason for connecting this review with that of Gertrude Bell’s biography. For indeed, how do you begin a biography? Especially with a woman who has lived such a life? A woman who once used to be more famous than T.E. Lawrence (who was a good friend actually), who travelled the Middle East, at a time when women rode side saddle (she had an apron sort of garment made to cover her pants), who climbed mountains (taking off her skirt to do so!), who was daring and brave and advent...more

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Jan 26, 2011 Debby rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Gertrude was a brilliant, wealthy Victorian woman who was an accomplished photographer, mountaineer, archaeologist and cartographer. Fluent in six languages including Arabic and Persian, she befriended many of the warring tribes in what is today the Arab world. Although not as well known as her good friend Lawrence of Arabia, she is credited with creating the independent states of Iraq(King Faisal) and Jordan. She was critical to the British imperial-policy making after WWI because of her depth...more

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Nov 29, 2010 UChicagoLaw added it

Shelves: faculty-recommendations, 2010-faculty-recommendations

I had known little about her, but she was a Mesopotamian expert and (along with T.E. Lawrence) one of the driving forces behind the creation of the country now called Iraq. She was an amazing woman with many talents–she was fluent in many languages (she even published translations of classic Arabic poetry), was a noted mountaineer, cartographer and archeologist, and lived a life of adventure that was quite rare for a woman of her class and time. Her detailed knowledge of and friendship with many...more

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Jan 04, 2012 Patricia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Bought this years ago as a read when I retire book. Drug it out when I read that Angelina Jolie was considering a movie about Gertrude. Thought I better read it so I would know the story. She was amazing. And a sign of her times that we know about Lawerance and we don't have common knowledge of Gertrude who was his contemporary.
Now that I have finished it, I agree with some of the reviews that said the Ms. Howell is not the greatest writer. But she did a credible job and I very much liked her n...more

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Jun 25, 2010 Marc Weitz rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

How can such an interesting life result in such a boring book? This was a real slog, reminding me of a reading assignment I was forced to do when I was in school. I finished the book only because she was such an important figure in an era that I'm very interested in. Having zoned out through much of it, I will now read Wikipedia's article on Gertrude Bell to round out my knowledge of her life.

Unfortunately, this is the second boring book I've read about Gertrude Bell. Should any good writers out...more

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Jul 09, 2010 Jill rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I knew very little about this important turn-of-the-century British woman, who at one time was more famous than Lawrence of Arabia. She certainly shaped the furture of the middle east and Iraq--to what (at that time) was a very prosperous, independent future. Despite her life's accomplishments, I found most interesting the path that she choose to get there--the languages she learned, the schools she attended, and her desert explorations. I highly recommend this book.

My only criticism is that I d...more

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Aug 19, 2010 Ruth rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was startled to see the spectrum of reviews this book elicited.
Perhaps it is a special taste, and I do like history, but I don't consider myself an eccentric. A fascinating story, a heroic protagonist with an entourage of heros and villains , statesmen and tribesmen. More importantly, as many readers remarked, a window into what could have been done a hundred years ago to assuage the conflicts in the Middle East- but was not done beause of the prevalent dismissal of women's abilities and achie...more

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Apr 27, 2013 Eddy Allen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arts-and-historical

A marvelous tale of an adventurous life of great historical import

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 in 1868 into a world of privilege, Bell turned her back on Victorian society, choosing to read history at Oxford and going on to become an archaeologist, spy, Arabist, l...more

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Jul 19, 2011 Anne rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Gertrude Bell belongs to a particular class of British women with means who ventured into unsettled corners of the world where a combination of keen intelligence and chutzpah allowed them to thrive and be far more useful than they would have been at home. Ironic that women like Bell and Beryl Markham had to travel thousands of miles from home to prove their worth. Howell follows Bell on her many treks, charts her discoveries and her involvement in spying and politics. She weaves a gripping tale...more

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Sep 01, 2009 Marilyn Matheny rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: i-own-this, women-explorers

I loved this book, this woman, and how much I learned from both of them. I did not know how much I did not know about the 1st World War. The events of this period are still reverberating today and this woman was in the thick of it all. It is a great story: an adventurous and extraordinary woman, a tragic romance, exotic desert travels, intrigue in the foreign service, and the heart-breaking history of the creation of the nation of Iraq.
I was enthralled and inspired to learn more about her and th...more

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Nov 18, 2011 Tammy Walquist rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A fascinating biography of a strong woman who played an integral part in developing relationships in the Middle East in the early 1900s. Because she's not a man, she gets easily passed over more often than not, but her contribution shouldn't be forgotten. I enjoyed the book and eagerly devoured the first 3/4. The last 1/4 of the book gets a little too political, and I kind of lost interest, but I loved learning about Gertrude Bell and how she established some precendents I'm still benefitting fr...more

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Nov 24, 2012 Eileen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, inspired-by-rob, own, read-2012

The day I found out that Robert Pattinson is going to portray T.E. Lawrence in the Herzog movie 'Queen of the Desert' that will be filmed in the spring of 2012, I decided to order this book and read it as background information. As a good fan you have to be prepared, right?

I was a kind of pleasantly surprised, because I didn't know anything about Gertrude Bell and she turned out to be a very interesting, daring, adventurous and amazingly strong woman. She grew up in Victorian England in a time t...more

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Sep 17, 2011 Keegan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Keegan by: Jen

Shelves: biography

Am I just completely uneducated that I had no idea who this woman was before my aunt mentioned reading this book? Do other people recognize the name of Gertrude Bell? Well, we should! What an amazing woman: rock climber, archaeologist, explorer, writer, and major contributor to the establishment of an Iraqi government!

Her love life saddened me, both as an unfortunate situation for her (to fall in love with a married man) and as a horrible betrayal both on her part and the part of Doughty-Wylie...more

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Jan 28, 2009 Caroline rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, school

this is the report I wrote on this book for school, I think it is rather good :)
Photographer, archaeologist, mountaineer, historian, cartographer, linguist, author, traveler, spy, poet, gardener, scholar and dedicated diplomat- Gertrude Bell’s extensive endeavors were exceptional and defining. Born in 1868 to a family whose enormous wealth came from the profitable, but certainly not glamorous coal trade, a mischievous, young Gertrude Bell learned the importance of hard work and traditional famil...more this is the report I wrote on this book for school, I think it is rather good :)
Photographer, archaeologist, mountaineer, historian, cartographer, linguist, author, traveler, spy, poet, gardener, scholar and dedicated diplomat- Gertrude Bell’s extensive endeavors were exceptional and defining. Born in 1868 to a family whose enormous wealth came from the profitable, but certainly not glamorous coal trade, a mischievous, young Gertrude Bell learned the importance of hard work and traditional family values. Her mother, Mary Shield, died when Gertrude was still a toddler and her father, Hugh Bell, soon married Florence Olliffe. While Gertrude’s relationship with her step mother never equaled the deep bond she shared with her father, she grew to admire and love Florence . As a poised young lady, Gertrude attended Oxford, taking her first small steps into a predominantly male world where she would later make great strides. At Oxford, she was the first woman to graduate with the highest honor, “a first,” shocking her fellow male classmates and warranting a mention in The Times.
In the years that followed, Gertrude came out in the London society season, traveled throughout Europe, hiked the Alps and journeyed to the Middle East leading to a lifelong love affair with the region. During her subsequent visits to the area she mastered Arabic, allowing her to delve deeper into the local culture. While traversing the desert, she formed acquaintances with Bedouin and Druze tribes and sheiks, gathering knowledge which would prove invaluable when she later switched from traveler and archaeologist to stateswoman.
At the outbreak of World War I, Gertrude, like scores of other women, took up war work. She completely reorganized the Wounded and Missing Enquiry Department based in Paris, turning it from a sea of papers into an efficient and admirable system. In 1916, she was given the title of Major Miss Bell and moved to Cairo to work in the Arab Bureau with Winston Churchill and T.E. Lawrence. There, she contributed her thorough knowledge of the area, controlled Arab revolts and helped to facilitate the formation of stable governments and countries in the region. Her factual yet entertaining writings on the region, including essays, eight books, and articles for the Arab Bulletin, increased her fame and credibility.
The following year, Gertrude moved to Baghdad, acquired a permanent residence there and worked furiously towards her goal of Arab self-determination through the establishment of stable Arab led states. Her dream almost slipped through her fingers at the end of World War I with the divisions and complications caused by the European mandates and the revolts and confusion that followed. However, Arab independence was achieved through the work of a very capable young sheikh named Faisal. He was able to unite the forever warring tribes and, in 1921, was finally crowned Faisal I, the first king of the new country, Iraq. The country held its first election three years later. As the government became more stable, Gertrude worked to improve the education system and founded both a women’s hospital and the Iraq Museum. In 1926, she died unexpectedly at her home in Baghdad, a few days short of her fifty-eight birthday. She was buried in Iraq and mourned by many, from kings to fruit sellers, across the many continents. A colleague’s condolences stated, “At last her body, always frail, was broken by the energy of her soul.”
II. Gertrude Bell lived during the final years of the Victorian Age. At this time, England represented the pinnacle of culture, science, art and industry. Government, education, class structure and the role of women were all in the process of being rethought and reformed. It was during these times that Charles Dickens, a family friend of the Bells, published his controversial and renowned works, giving identities to the poor factory workers who were looked down upon by higher society. Women did not yet have the right to vote; the suffrage movement had just started to make headway and would not succeed until 1918. Society and values were still very conservative and, “even piano legs were draped, lest they should seem too provocative.” Girls were formally presented to the Queen in the London season before beginning to attend social events. Modest long dresses and skirts, worn with high collared blouses, were the fashion. Prominent scholars and doctors wrote papers explaining that women did not have the intellect to receive an education equal to their male peers and that too much study would have lasting detrimental effects on their minds and bodies.
Obviously, living under these social moirés effected Gertrude’s life and accomplishments. Time and time again, she had to overcome the gender barriers placed before her. Whether in the classroom at Oxford, or throughout her unaccompanied travels, she had to strike a balance between strong, capable and independent and proper, elegant and feminine. When travelling during the day, Gertrude rode wearing a split skirt that she designed herself which allowed her to ride in a man’s saddle while still looking like a lady. She dressed for dinner every evening in elegant Parisian gowns. Sometimes, she dined at a table set with crystal and linen, and often, she sat on low cushions and elaborate rugs in the tent of a prominent sheik. In this exotic setting, she would impress them with her knowledge of tribal politics and Arabic poetry. At British events, while the politicians and statesmen she dined with smoked cigars, Gertrude daintily held her signature cigarette holder. It is said that a women must do twice as much as a man to be seen as an equal; Gertrude arguably did quadruple that of most her peers.
III. Gertrude Bell was a daunting character. As a woman who pushed the envelope and excelled in a wide range of areas, studying her can easily be overwhelming. At the same time, she was a very real person whose life contained all the triumphs and disappointments of an ordinary person. The disappointments in love and the loneliness that she faced living in the desert affected her character and colored her letters and writings. Each of her numerous projects, such as her many “first ascents” in mountaineering, her extensive photography of the Middle East and ancient ruins, and her war work, alone would have warranted mention in history books. Primary sources provided by Gertrude about the lives of women and the time honored tribal customs of the Far East are some of, it not the most, detailed and extensive works on the region during that time period. However, Gertrude’s greatest lasting impact is clear when looking at any current day map of the Middle East. The borders of Iraq are drawn where they are due to her ability to identify and unite the tribes in that area. Gertrude truly was a “shaper of nations.” Howell writes, “The struggle to install conditions conducive to peace and eventual prosperity would prove as daunting as the battlefront itself.” Gertrude’s passion for the Arab cause fueled her in accomplishing this difficult task. Her work in Iraq proved that when the native Arabs’ views, needs and cultural backgrounds were taken into account, stable Arab run governments could be established.
IV. The author, Georgina Howell’s background is in magazine journalism and she has she written extensively for Vogue. Her experience in this field is evident throughout the book. Many of her sentences are direct and to the point and she includes some gossipy details other biographers may have chosen to omit. The book’s fashion, format and focus are aimed towards women in their late twenties and older. Due to Gertrude’s eight books, many papers and thousands of letters, Howell’s knack for picking and choosing pertinent attributes and events to paint a detailed, if slightly romanticized, portrait of Gertrude Bell is key to the success of the book. The chapters are divided into the many stages and interests of Gertrude’s life resulting in a format that is not strictly chronological. However, this method is effective in describing a multifaceted character as it allows for the development of each particular aspect of Gertrude’s persona without the distraction of other unrelated events. The description of Gertrude’s early childhood is particularly enjoyable because of her incredibly privileged upbringing and her many mischievous games and activities. On the other hand, following the complex political and military process of the founding of Iraq proved most tedious. The section is frustrating to read as there are many stops and starts in the negotiations, conferences, and strings of intricate, interwoven minor events. However, Howell’s exposition of the many details reveals her knowledge of the topic and reflects Bell’s own frustration with the process.
V. Gertrude Bell: Queen of the Desert, Shaper of Nations by Georgina Howell is a worthwhile book, not only because of its uniquely intimate portrait of Gertrude Bell, but also because of its ability to illustrate the highly complex political situation in the Middle East which is still pertinent today. Howell’s book gives depth and character to a situation often explained with one dimensional graphs and maps. In addition, important British female figures in history typically come from the royal family. For those wishing to explore outside this bloodline, Gertrude Bell is a wonderful alternative. She has all the poise and regality that is the signature of British royalty without living under the constraints of the crown. Gertrude Bell’s astonishing adventures and accomplishments are beautifully conveyed through Howell’s engaging writing. The book envelops the reader, just like Gertrude, whose mother said that “Her ardent and magnetic personality drew the lives of others into hers as she passed along.”
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Aug 28, 2010 Jennie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biography, world-history

This is a fascinating history about an amazing person I had never heard of until a favorite professor dropped her name in passing during a conversation a few years ago. Gertrude Bell lived the kind of life few people can dream of, and accomplished things that still seem rather legendary in spite of the evidence of photographs, newspaper clippings, diaries, and letters. I had a hard time tearing myself away when I had chores to do.

My quibbles with Howell's book are relatively minor. Her use of ce...more This is a fascinating history about an amazing person I had never heard of until a favorite professor dropped her name in passing during a conversation a few years ago. Gertrude Bell lived the kind of life few people can dream of, and accomplished things that still seem rather legendary in spite of the evidence of photographs, newspaper clippings, diaries, and letters. I had a hard time tearing myself away when I had chores to do.

My quibbles with Howell's book are relatively minor. Her use of certain terms distracted me, because sometimes I just can't let it go: "Constantinople", for example, is not strictly wrong because apparently the Turks didn't ask foreigners to stop calling Istanbul by its former name until 1930, but it was still annoying. Howell also repeatedly refers to the government setting up "Muhammedan" courts - her own usage, not a quote - and felt like I was reading some old colonialist literature instead of a scholarly work written this decade. "Turkish Empire"? Seriously? And my favorite - referring to one person (a relative) as one of her "descendants". How a childless person can have descendants is beyond me.

Sometimes, the book is a little disorganized with regard to dates. Howell frequently jumps ahead several years for several pages (sometimes an entire chapter), then brings us back to the original timeline. Howell also completely glosses over Bell's death. There are some possible hints that she knows she's going to die, then one day she goes to work, goes swimming and the next morning she's dead and her family gets lots of letters of condolence. The end..... Strange that Howell gives so much detail on so many aspects of Bell's life, and her death gets a paragraph. Not that I want the gory details, but it just felt like something she didn't want to write about and it showed in the work.

Flaws aside, I'd recommend this book to anyone; it's a story that definitely deserves a place among the great movers and shakers of the early 20th century, and it's a pity we don't learn about her in school.
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Jul 12, 2008 Nicola Turner rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: people interested in why the Middle East is the way it is

Shelves: adult-nf, favorites

I could not put this book down once I got past the first few opening chapters. This woman was born at a time in England when women of her class were schooled to be wives, mothers and hostesses. Gertrude ended up unmarried, fiercely independent and a major player in middle-eastern politics during and after World War One. She helped give birth to the independent Arab nations of Iraq and Saudi Arabia after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire's control despite the British government's unwillingness t...more

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Mar 26, 2011 Ann rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a terrific biography. Gertrude Bell would have been remarkable in any age but at the beginning of the 20th century women were so restricted we rarely hear of one so amazing on multiple fronts. She was brilliant, fearless (mountain climber, desert traveler), passionate and feminine to boot. She shaped the middle east after WWI. And when she decided she had had enough she checked out on her own. Amazing! Good writing, thoroughly researched, great history of the middle east.

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May 29, 2011 Marilee rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the best biography I have ever had the pleasure of reading. If you want to understand the politics of the Middle East, you must read about Gertrude Bell. T.E. Lawrence aka; Lawrence of Arabia is better known historically ,however Gertrude Bell's story is more compelling, simply because it is about a woman of power in a place and time that did not afford women power. Gertrude Bell shaped the Middle East as we know it today for better or worse....

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2314175.Gertrude_Bell?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1311984855l/2314175.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2314175.Gertrude_Bell?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Gertrude Bell: Queen of the Desert, Shaper of Nations by Georgina Howell[/url]

Gertrude Bell: Queen of the Desert, Shaper of Nations

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Gertrude Bell: Queen of the Desert, Shaper of Nations

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combineOther Editions (7)

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Books by Georgina Howell

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Other Editions (7)