Turning her back on her privileged life in Victorian England,
Gertrude Bell (1868-1926), fired by her innate curiosity,
journeyed the world and became fascinated with all things Arab.
Traveling the length and breadth of the Arab region, armed with
a love for its language and its people, she not only produced
several enormously popular books based on her experiences but
became instrumental to the British foreign office. When World
War I erupted, and the British needed the loyalty of the Arab
leaders, it was Gertrude Bell's work and connections that helped
provide the brain for T. E. Lawrence's military brawn. After the
war she participated in both the Paris and Cairo conferences,
played a major role in creating the modern Middle East, and was
generally considered the most powerful woman in the British
Empire. In this incident-packed biography, Janet Wallach reveals
a woman whose achievements and independent spirit were
especially remarkable for her times, and who brought the same
passion and intensity to her e