Georgina Howell. Gertrude Bell: Queen of the Desert, Shaper of ...

REVIEWS 109her family, but by the people of Arabia. When she states, by way ofproof, that Bell’s name and her work for Iraq were recently reinstatedin that country’s school curricula, she does not mention thatthe revised textbooks were written by agencies under contract to theU.S. occupation forces. In Howell’s view, Bell “cajoled and intruded,guided and engineered, and finally delivered the oftenpromised and nearly betrayed prize of independence…. [and] leftbehind a benevolent and effective Iraq government, functioningwithout institutionalized corruption and intent on equality andpeace. In days when ‘Empire’ and ‘colonialism’ are dirty words,”she adds, “Britain has little to be ashamed of in the establishment ofIraq...” (xvii-xviii) Howell goes on to comment that the dynasty Bellput into place in Iraq lasted for thirty-two years, while Europeplunged into war after only thirteen. She tells us very little about thewidespread revolts or the ruthless British repression that followedthe imposition of the Hashemite king or about the thwarted hopes ofIraqi nationalists.Bell helped create the country that fills our daily news andleft behind an extensive correspondence, a diary kept over manyyears, a series of position papers, and eight books. She led anincredible life and documented it well. In short, Gertrude Bell is abiographer’s dream.In a critical review of a biography of Mark Twain, ChristopherHitchens once commented that there are five cardinal rules inwriting biography. First, the biographer should make us want tohave known the person in question, or at least to get to know theperson better through reading about his or her life. Second, thereader does not need to be burdened with the mundane details ofeveryday life that do not tell what makes the subject of thebiography special. Third, the biographer should place the subject’slife in its historical context; we need to learn about the times tounderstand the life in question. And so much the better if we canmore thoroughly understand the times through the life story. Fourth,the biographer should allow his subject to be his or her quirky selfand not a reflection of the correspondence or reminiscences of

REVIEWS 113entirely honest when she wrote that she would support any governmentdesired by the Iraqi people. She knew who she wanted: her oldacquaintance Faisal, son of the sharif of Mecca and a leader of theBritish-sponsored Arab Revolt. Howell’s detailed account of themachinations that put Faisal on the newly created throne of Iraqinadvertently shows Bell to be quite an operator.Howell asks why a beautiful and wealthy woman in herprime would want to study difficult languages, explore dangerousterritory, and live in distant Muslim societies. She concludes thatBell did not want to be famous, to circulate in high society, or tocoast on her wealth and family position. She wanted to exercise hercuriosity, her intellect, and her need for challenge. Her early hopesfor marriage and family dashed, she pursued diversionary interests.For Howell, history presented the talented Bell with the opportunityto play a role in world affairs. I would say that British imperialpower and military force resulted in the creation of a country thatwas designed for the convenience of the imperial power rather thanits inhabitants. After she had seen to Faisal’s coronation and foundedthe Iraqi museum and library, she found herself lonely and bored.She was in poor health, and the future held little for her. Howellobserves that both Lawrence and Bell, who loved and respected theArabs, knew that the British promises made to the Arabs forindependence following their revolt against the Ottomans would bebroken. She notes that both became despondent and preoccupiedwith this dilemma for the rest of their lives. She perhaps shouldhave mentioned that both committed suicide.Does this biography, so compellingly told, pass Hitchens’sfive rules? Hitchens himself liked the book, but he does not seem tohave read it very carefully, nor did he apply his five rules to it.Writing for the Atlantic Monthly, he states that Bell would probablyhave married her second great love had he not been killed atGallipoli, glossing over the fact that the man was already marriedand had made clear to Bell his decision to remain in his marriage.Hitchens confidently intuits that Bell simultaneously wanted anddreaded to be rid of her virginity. How does he know that? He