Syria: The Desert and the Sown

Gertrude Bell's portrait of Syria is a classic of travel writing, illuminating a region that continues to preoccupy us today and portraying the unique life of a remarkable, still-controversial and ultimately tragic woman.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 352 pages
Publication date: 13 June 2019
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Gertrude Bell was a remarkable and invaluable figure in the Middle East in the 20th century. She was a significant force behind the Arab Revolt and was responsible for creating the boundaries of the modern state of Iraq and installing the Hashemite dynasty with Faisal I as king in Iraq and Transjordan. Her knowledge of the Arab world was forged through decades of travel and the relationships she built across Arabia with tribal leaders and kings, who referred to her as Umm al Mu mineen, or Mother of the Faithful.

In the winter of 1906, she undertook an often-dangerous journey through Greater Syria - Damascus, Jerusalem, Beirut, Antioch, and Alexandretta - and her portrait of the landscapes, people, and customs of a part of the world that very few had explored at the time is now a classic of travel writing. Bell's Syria illuminates a region that continues to preoccupy us today as well as portraying the unique life of a remarkable, still-controversial, and ultimately tragic woman.

Weight: 292g
Dimension: 131 x 197 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781838602307