{"product_id":"desert-queen-the-extraordinary-life-of-gertrude-bell-adventurer-adviser-to-kings-ally-of-lawrence-of-arabia-9781400096190","title":"Desert Queen: The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell: Adventurer, Adviser to Kings, Ally of Lawrence of Arabia","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe definitive biography, \u003cb\u003emesmerizing and \u003c\/b\u003e\"richly textured \" (\u003ci\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e), that inspired the acclaimed documentary, \u003ci\u003eLetters from Baghdad. - \u003c\/i\u003eWith a new Afterword - \"\u003ci\u003eDesert Queen\u003c\/i\u003e...plucks Gertrude Bell out of the shadow of Lawrence of Arabia.\" --\u003ci\u003eThe Boston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHere is the story of Gertrude Bell, who explored, mapped, and excavated the Arab world throughout the early twentieth century. 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. E. Lawrence's brawn. 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In this masterful biography, Janet Wallach shows us the woman behind these achievements\u003cb\u003e--\u003c\/b\u003ea woman whose passion and defiant independence were at odds with the confined and custom-bound England she left behind. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eToo 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJANET WALLACH is the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Richest Woman in America: Hetty Green in the Gilded Age\u003c\/i\u003e, as well as \u003ci\u003eSeraglio \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eChanel: Her Style and Her Life. \u003c\/i\u003eShe is also coauthor, with her husband John Wallach, of three previous books on the Middle East: \u003ci\u003eThe New Palestinians\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eArafat: In the Eyes of the Beholder\u003c\/i\u003e; and \u003ci\u003eStill Small Voices: The Real Heroes of the Arab-Israeli Conflict\u003c\/i\u003e. She lives in New York City.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50515084607762,"sku":"9781400096190","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_97e35853-99ac-4a0c-8862-4d4774606a18.jpg?v=1730997826","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/desert-queen-the-extraordinary-life-of-gertrude-bell-adventurer-adviser-to-kings-ally-of-lawrence-of-arabia-9781400096190","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}