My clever
brother introduced me to the extraordinary Gertrude Bell (1868-1926).
I met her too late to see her as any kind of role model, but my
admiration for this woman is boundless. We have few real-life
similarities except certain landscape yearnings. We do (did) share
red hair which is important only to red-headed people.
Among her
first accomplishments were her extensive camel treks in Arabia,
acquiring knowledge of the desert tribes and fluency in their
languages. Odd as it may seem, this lone traveling woman (with a
loyal paid servant) was, for the most part, accepted by local desert
leaders (unlike some of her own society) for her unorthodox interests and her unquestioned love of
the ancient Mesopotamian lands. It was a natural fit for British
Intelligence to recruit her as a political officer for the region
during the First World War. During that time, she had as much
influence on the success of the Arab Revolt as her colleague and
friend, T.E. Lawrence.
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| Wikipedia |
From
Christopher Hitchens’ book review of Gertrude Bell: Queen of the
Desert, Shaper of Nations:[1]
Reading
about Bell, one is struck not just by her ability to master the
Arabic language and to revere and appreciate the history and culture
of the Arabs, but by her political acuity. Where others saw only
squabbles between nomads, she was able to discern the emergence of
two great rival forces—the Wahabbis of Ibn Saud and the Hashemites
of Faisal—and she stored away the knowledge for future reference.
Before the
war ended, she was appointed Oriental Secretary to the High
Commissioner in Baghdad, a position of power unequalled by a woman of
her time. She hoped and planned fiercely for post-war reorganization,
a stable future for the Middle East. The ultimate profound effect was
the creation of Jordan as the Hashemite dynasty and the modern state
of Iraq.
A life
devoted to peacemaking and politics had its downside with
bureaucratic infighting and financial challenges. But her personal
life was not devoid of fleeting pleasures. Gertrude loved to dress as
fashionably as she could and hold court among international figures
visiting Iraq, preferring the company of men to what she considered
the trivial interests of Foreign Office wives. Sadly, two blossoming
love affairs ended with the premature death of each man. Depression
was difficult to cope with later in life; some say her overdose of
sleeping pills was deliberate.
D.R.
Hogarth said of her:[2]
No
woman in recent time has combined her qualities – her taste for
arduous and dangerous adventure with her scientific interest and
knowledge, her competence in archaeology and art, her distinguished
literary gift, her sympathy for all sorts and condition of men, her
political insight and appreciation of human values, her masculine
vigour, hard common sense and practical efficiency – all tempered
by feminine charm and a most romantic spirit.
 |
| Mesopotamia Exhibit, 2013, Royal Ontario Museum |
Bell left
thousands of rare photographs of Middle East antiquities, as an
expert on archaeology and architecture. Her enduring love for the
region led her to found the famed Baghdad Archaeological Museum, now
known as the National Museum of Iraq — the institution notoriously
looted during the Iraq invasion of 2003 (although many pieces have
been recovered). Her photos can be seen at the site of the GertrudeBell Project. Numerous editions of her letters and diaries have been
published.[3] One
of her own classic writings is Syria:
The Desert and the Sown (London:
William Heinneman, 1907).
More than one
book has been written about her life.[4]
The lower photograph for this book cover was taken at the Cairo Conference
in 1921; Bell is between Winston Churchill and T.E. Lawrence.
 |
| New York Times, 2006 |
Bell is
buried in Baghdad.
[2]
David R. Hogarth, "Obituary:
Gertrude Lowthian Bell," The
Geographical Journal, Vol.68,
No.4 (1926), pp 363-368; as cited and quoted in "Gertrude
Bell," Wikipedia
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gertrude_Bell : accessed 23 April
2014).
[3]
Bell, Florence, ed. The Letters of Gertrude Bell. London:
Ernest Benn, 1927.
Burgoyne,
Elizabeth. Gertrude Bell from her Personal Papers.
London: Ernest Benn, 1958-61.
O'Brien,
Rosemary, ed. Gertrude Bell: the Arabian diaries, 1913-1914.
Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2000.
Richmond,
Elsa, ed. The earlier letters of Gertrude Bell. London: Ernest
Benn, 1937.
[4]
Bodley, R. and Hearst, L. Gertrude
Bell.
New York: Macmillan, 1940.
Goodman,
Susan. Gertrude Bell. Leamington Spa: Berg, 1985.
Howell,
Georgina. Gertrude Bell: Queen of the Desert, Shaper of Nations.
New York: Farrar, Straus
and Giroux, 2007.
Kamm,
J. Daughter of the desert : the story of Gertrude Bell.
London: Bodley Head, 1956.
Lukitz,
Liora. A Quest in the Middle East: Gertrude Bell and the Making of
Modern Iraq. London: I.B. Tauris, 2006.
Ridley,
M.R. Gertrude Bell. London: Blackie and Son, 1941.
Wallach,
Janet. Desert Queen : the Extraordinary Life of Gertrude
Bell. New York: Anchor Books, 1996.
Winstone,
H.V.F. Gertrude Bell. London: Constable, 1978.
