Revered or reviled, Gertrude Bell was a commanding figure: scholar, linguist, archaeologist, traveler and "Orientalist". Belonging to the tradition of the great British Middle East enthusiasts of the early twentieth century, she explored the Ottoman Empire during and after World War I and was (alongside T.E. Lawrence) hugely instrumental in the post-war reconfiguration of the Arab states in the Middle East. Using previously unseen sources, including Gertrude Bell's own diaries and letters, Liora Lukitz provides a deeper political and personal biography of this influential character and the tragedy, vulnerability and frustration that were key to her quest both for a British-dominated Middle East and relief from her troubled romantic life.

Liora Lukitz has for several years been a research fellow at the Center for Middle East Studies at Harvard University.

Preface * Prologue * "Light of Mine Eyes and Harvest of My Heart" * "She Had Known Ruptures, She Had Known the Whole" * "The Shadow of a Stone" * "I Will Dedicate This Year to You" * "On the Edge of Important Things" * "Father, Think!" * "To Make Kings, To Invent Kingdoms" * A Tower of Strength and Wisdom" * "We Had Awakened and Become a Nation" * "Dust" * "Flood" * Epilogue * Afterword

Preface * Prologue * "Light of Mine Eyes and Harvest of My Heart" * "She Had Known Ruptures, She Had Known the Whole" * "The Shadow of a Stone" * "I Will Dedicate This Year to You" * "On the Edge of Important Things" * "Father, Think!" * "To Make Kings, To Invent Kingdoms" * A Tower of Strength and Wisdom" * "We Had Awakened and Become a Nation" * "Dust..." * "Flood..." * Epilogue * Afterword