She has been described as 'one of the few representatives of His Majesty's Government remembered by the Arabs with anything resembling affection'. During her lifetime she was highly esteemed and trusted by British officials and exerted an immense amount of power.

She played a major role in establishing and helping administer the modern state of Iraq, utilising her unique perspective from her travels and relations with tribal leaders throughout the Middle East. Lawrence, Bell helped support the Hashemite dynasties in what is today Jordan as well as in Iraq. Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell, CBE (14 July 1868 – 12 July 1926) was an English writer, traveller, political officer, administrator, and archaeologist who explored, mapped, and became highly influential to British imperial policy-making due to her knowledge and contacts, built up through extensive travels in Greater Syria, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, and Arabia. Along with T. Too long eclipsed by Lawrence, Gertrude Bell emerges at last in her own right as a vital player on the stage of modern history, and as a woman whose life was both a heartbreaking story and a grand adventure.1996 'The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell, Adventurer, Adviser to Kings, Ally of Lawrence of Arabia' Doubleday publishers, New York, London, et.al hardbound with tan and black boards and gilt lettering on spine very good condition of book and pictoral dust jacket appears unread see pics. In this masterful biography, Janet Wallach shows us the woman behind these achievements**-**a woman whose passion and defiant independence were at odds with the confined and custom-bound England she left behind. After the war, she played a major role in creating the modern Middle East and was, at the time, considered the most powerful woman in the British Empire. Recruited by British intelligence during World War I, she played a crucial role in obtaining the loyalty of Arab leaders, and her connections and information provided the brains to match T. Here is the story of Gertrude Bell, who explored, mapped, and excavated the Arab world throughout the early twentieth century. Desert Queen: The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell: Adventurer, Adviser to Kings, Ally of Lawrence of Arabia Paperback Illustrated, Jby Janet Wallach (Author) 869 ratings See all formats and editions Kindle 14.99 Read with Our Free App Audiobook 0. ' Desert ucks Gertrude Bell out of the shadow of Lawrence of Arabia.' - The Boston Globe

The definitive biography, mesmerizing and “richly textured ” ( Chicago Tribune), that inspired the acclaimed documentary, Letters from Baghdad.

Desert queen by janet wallach