Queen of the Desert:


Incredible life of Gertrude Bell the Oxford-educated adventurer and diplomat who explored the Middle East with Lawrence of Arabia

• Bell was an archaeologist, spy and diplomat in the Middle East who was friends with Lawrence of Arabia 
• She was influential in forming the modern state of Iraq and was 'the most powerful woman in British Empire'
• But she is believed to have become depressed as influence dwindled and died of apparent overdose in 1926

A documentary detailing the life of 'Queen of the Desert' Gertrude Bell, an adventurer and diplomat who helped create the modern state of Iraq, is released this week. Bell is pictured centre at the Cairo Conference in 1921 with friend and colleague TE Lawrence, second right, and then Secretary of the Colonies Winston Churchill, where the future of the Middle East was discussed in the wake of the First World War

She was described as an 'outsider', the 'Queen of the Desert' and 'the most powerful woman in the British Empire in her day'.

Now the life of Gertrude Bell is being revealed in a new documentary following her exploits in the Middle East with Lawrence of Arabia and her work for British Intelligence during the First World War.

Bell was an Oxford-educated archaeologist who was fascinated with Arab culture, but whose work faded from the public eye compared to that of her contemporary TE Lawrence.

Bell, pictured left and right, was born in County Durham in 1868 and went on to study history at Oxford, before developing a fascination with Arabia and archaeology, visiting the area several times and frequently embarking on digs, such as one in 1909 at Carchemish, ruins found on the Syrian-Turkish border, where she first met Lawrence of Arabia and 'intimidated' him with her intelligence and ability to speak Arabic 'better than him'

Documentary Letters from Baghdad draws on her diaries and writings and features actress Tilda Swinton as the voice of Bell.

She was born in County Durham in 1868 to a wealthy family, studying history at Oxford before first travelling to Persia, now Iran, in 1892 to visit her uncle Sir Frank Lascelles, who was ambassador.

After developing a passion for archaeology, she spent the next 20 years travelling the globe, frequently returning to the Middle East.

It was in 1909 at a dig at the ancient city of Carchemish, which would now be on the Syrian-Turkish border, that she met Lawrence.

According to The Times, the first meeting between the pair was frosty due to Victorian 'traditions of snootiness, sexism and arrogance' as well as Lawrence feeling 'intimidated' by meeting a woman who was 'his intellectual equal' and 'spoke Arabic better than him'.

Bell, pictured left in Iraq and right with Iraqi farmer friend Haji Naji, was recruited by British Intelligence during the First World War due to her knowledge of the area and made an 'oriental secretary', before staying on in the region after the war to act as a mediator between the fledgling Arab government and British supervisors

Bell first met Lawrence of Arabia at the ruins of the ancient city of Carchemish, which today would be in Turkey near the border with Syria, pictured

But they went on to form a firm friendship, with Bell calling Lawrence, around 20 years her junior, an 'interesting boy' who was 'going to make a traveller'.

Just a few years later Bell was recruited by British Intelligence during the First World War to help guide soldiers through the deserts, before being made Oriental Secretary in 1917, advising the military on the region.

She retained a position with the British Government after the war, working as a diplomat and helping to draw up Iraq's borders and establish the state.

She served as a mediator between the Arab government in Iraq and the British officials overseeing it and campaigned strongly for the country to have 'self-determination'.

Her importance in the area was confirmed when she was invited to the Cairo Conference in 1921 alongside Lawrence, hosted by then Secretary of State for the Colonies Winston Churchill to discuss the future of Middle Eastern territories. 

Although her influence in Government began to dwindle, Bell, pictured far left with TE Lawrence, second left, British High Commissioner of Palestine Sir Herbert Samuel, centre, and Emir Abdullah of Jordan, and right in Iraq with a British soldier, focused her efforts into setting up the Iraqi museum and preserving priceless artifacts

Bell also created the Iraqi Museum in Baghdad to preserve artifacts found in digs across the region at sites such as Palmyra, which have since been ransacked by ISIS.

Her love life was another matter, with Bell's first engagement to diplomat Henry Cadogan broken off against her will months before his death.

An affair with married soldier Charles Doughty-Wylie followed, and his death at Gallipoli during the war was said to have broken her heart, causing her to pour all her efforts into her work.

Over the next few years it is believed Bell became depressed due to the deaths of relatives, the sheer scale of her work at the museum and the dwindling of her family fortune.

Bell, who never married, was then found dead in bed in 1926 after an apparent overdose of sleeping pills. 

Bell amassed a collection of more than 7,000 photos during her time in the Middle East, including this one of her, centre, enjoying a picnic with British and colonial troops, and many of them will be featured in the upcoming documentary.

The film will tell her life in her own words, with Tilda Swinton providing the voice of Bell

The adventurer amassed a collection of more than 7,000 photos of the region, some of which will feature prominently in the documentary, alongside 2,000 documents and hours of film clips. 

A statement from the film's creators Sabine Krayenbuhl and Zeva Oelbaum said: 'Using stunning, never-seen-before footage of the region from 100 years ago, and more than 1600 letters written by Bell and her contemporaries, the film chronicles Bell’s extraordinary journey into both the uncharted Arabian desert and the inner sanctum of British male colonial power.

'More influential than her friend and colleague T.E. Lawrence (a.k.a. Lawrence of Arabia), why has she been written out of the history she helped make?'

The film took five years to make and follows Hollywood biopic Queen of the Desert that starred Nicole Kidman as Bell and was made in 2015 and released last week in the US.

Letters from Baghdad is released on Friday.

(Culled from the Mail, UK)