Book description
Archaeologist, spy, Arabist, linguist, author, poet, photographer,
mountaineer and nation builder, Gertrude Bell was born in 1868 into a
world of privilege and plenty, but she turned her back on all that for
her passion for the Arab peoples, becoming the architect of the
independent kingdom of Iraq and seeing its first king Faisal safely onto
the throne in 1921. Daughter of the Desert is her story, vividly told
and impeccably researched, drawing on Gertrude's own writings, both
published and unpublished. It is a compelling portrait of a woman who
transcended the restrictions of her class and age and in so doing
created a remarkable and enduring legacy.
