The situation came to a crisis in October 1915, as Sharif Hussein demanded an immediate commitment from Britain, with the threat that he would otherwise throw his weight behind the Ottomans. [57] This would create a credible Pan-Islamic message that could have been dangerous for Britain, which was in severe difficulties in the Gallipoli Campaign. [58] The British replied with a letter from High Commissioner McMahon that was generally agreeable while reserving commitments concerning the Mediterranean coastline and Holy Land. [59] Korda, M. (2010). Hero: The Life and Legend of Lawrence of Arabia. Harper. ISBN 978-0-06-171261-6– via Internet Archive (archive.org). Wilhelm Wassmuss (1880–1931), German diplomat and spy, known as "Wassmuss of Persia" and compared to Lawrence

Wilson, J. (1989). Lawrence of Arabia: The authorised biography of T. E. Lawrence. Atheneum. ISBN 978-0-689-11934-7– via Internet Archive (archive.org). In January 1914, the British army used Lawrence's archeological dig in the Negev as cover for a military intelligence mission to update British maps and water sources in the area. In August 1914, World War I broke out. Lawrence delayed enlisting in the military until October when he enlisted and was appointed a second lieutenant. He was assigned to the map section in Cairo where he remained until the spring of 1916. In 1915, two of Lawrence's brothers were killed fighting in France, and Lawrence always felt guilty that he was spending time at a desk job while others were actually fighting. Hoffman, George Amin (2011). T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) and the M1911 . Retrieved 11 November 2022. Hyde, H. Montgomery (1977). Solitary in the Ranks: Lawrence of Arabia as airman and private soldier. London: Constable. ISBN 978-0-09-462070-4.National newspapers alerted the public to the loss of the "hero's manuscript", but the draft was not recovered. Lawrence refers to this version as "TextI" and says that had it been published, it would have been some 250,000words in length. Lawrence, T. E. (1922). Seven Pillars of Wisdom (unabridged, unpublished m.s.). text in Oxford U. collection. ISBN 0-9546418-0-9. By far the most intriguing – and significant – of Anderson's trio is Aaronsohn. "A towering man given to portliness … brilliant and arrogant, passionate and combative", in 1915 this celebrated agronomist was trusted enough by the Ottomans to be placed in charge of a campaign to suppress a plague of locusts. But 1915 was also the year of the Armenian genocide; Aaronsohn feared that the Jewish colonists of Palestine would be next. By 1917 he had overcome British suspicions to establish a spy ring, including his sister, Sarah, that passed on information about the Turks in Palestine. In October of that year, Sarah was captured by the Ottomans, whom she defied, first by withstanding brutal treatment, then by killing herself. Her brother was in London conferring with Chaim Weizmann at the time. No longer were the Aaronsohns interested solely in self-defence; the new goal, as articulated by Weizmann, was a Jewish Palestine "under British protection". T. E. Lawrence to D. G. Hogarth". T.E. Lawrence Society. 7 April 1927. Archived from the original on 3 August 2019 . Retrieved 19 January 2020. Wilson 1989, p.136: Lawrence wrote to his parents, "We are obviously only meant as red herrings to give an archaeological colour to a political job."

Early life [ edit ] Lawrence's birthplace, Gorphwysfa, Tremadog, Carnarvonshire, Wales The Lawrence family lived at 2 Polstead Road, Oxford from 1896 to 1921 There is considerable evidence that Lawrence was a masochist. He wrote in his description of the Dera'a beating that "a delicious warmth, probably sexual, was swelling through me," and he also included a detailed description of the guards' whip in a style typical of masochists' writing. [228] In later life, Lawrence arranged to pay a military colleague to administer beatings to him, [229] and to be subjected to severe formal tests of fitness and stamina. [212] John Bruce first wrote on this topic, including some other statements that were not credible, but Lawrence's biographers regard the beatings as established fact. [230] French novelist André Malraux admired Lawrence but wrote that he had a "taste for self-humiliation, now by discipline and now by veneration; a horror of respectability; a disgust for possessions". [231] Biographer Lawrence James wrote that the evidence suggested a "strong homosexual masochism", noting that he never sought punishment from women. [232] Thomas Edward Lawrence was an English militaryman born in 1888 and known for his assistance to the Arab tribes in their revolt against the Turks during World War I. Despite the defeat of the Turkish forces, the Arabs weren't given their independence and were instead to be ruled by France, a decision that angered Lawrence, who felt that the British betrayed the Arabs. Lawrence is a fascinating figure, and no matter what you ultimately think about him, he definitely commands the stage. Though honored in his time, Lawrence’s reputation has fallen dramatically since reaching its zenith in David Lean

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Wilson 1989, p.33: In note 34, Wilson discusses a painting in Lawrence's possession at the time of his death which appears to show him as a boy in RGA uniform. As a specialist in the Middle East, Fred Halliday praised Lawrence's Seven Pillars of Wisdom as a "fine work of prose" but described its relevance to the study of Arab history and society as "almost worthless." [193] Revolt in the Desert [ edit ] Portrait by Augustus John, 1919. Tate Modern, London His journey to this point has long been legend. From his first postings as archaeologist, liaison and map officer, to fighting alongside guerrilla forces during the Arab Revolt. Journeying more than 300 miles through blistering heat to capture Aqaba, to his involvement in peace conferences that decided the future of the Middle East. Lawrence gave over his life the Middle East and its people.

Anderson, Scott (2013). Lawrence in Arabia: War, deceit, imperial folly and the making of the modern Middle East. Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-385-53292-1– via Internet Archive (archive.org). Anderson structures Lawrence in Arabia in such a way that it is told through the experiences of four central characters. There is Curt Prüfer, a German academic who tried to incite an Islamic jihad against the British; Aaron Aaronsohn, a Zionist in the employ of the Ottoman Empire, who forged a spy ring in Palestine; and William Yale, a Standard Oil man sent to wring concessions from the Turks, who ended up drawn into the vortex of war. Thomas Edward Lawrence first set foot on the hot sands of Arabia in 1909. By 1918 there was a GBP20,000 price on his head. His journey to this point has long been legend. During the closing years of the war, Lawrence sought to convince his superiors in the British government that Arab independence was in their interests, but he met with mixed success. [126] The secret Sykes-Picot Agreement between France and Britain contradicted the promises of independence that he had made to the Arabs and frustrated his work. [127] Post-war years [ edit ] Lawrence, T. E. (1997). Seven Pillars of Wisdom. Wordsworth Classics of World Literature. Calder, A. (Introduction). Wordsworth. pp.vi–vii. ISBN 978-1853264696. Calder writes in the "Introduction" that returning soldiers often felt intense guilt at having survived, when others did not – even to the point of self-harm.

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Lawrence also created an English translation of The Odyssey and translated a French fiction work, The Forest Giant, into English. He also wrote The Mint, published in 1936. A collection of his letters was published in 1938. Richardson, Nigel (24 October 2016). "Adventure in the desert on the trail of Lawrence of Arabia". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022 . Retrieved 19 January 2020. Thomas Edward Lawrence, known as T.E. Lawrence, was born in 1888. He earned his higher education at Jesus College at Oxford University and became an archeologist in 1910. Several months after World War I began he enlisted in the army. Lawrence was initially in the map unit stationed in Cairo, Egypt. In 1916, when he was under the command of British General Sir Edmund Allenby, he was sent to help Sherif Feisal lead the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire. One of Lawrence's and Feisal's victories was the taking of Aqaba, a port city near the Red Sea. In the peace negotiations after WWI Syria, which Lawrence had promised the Arabs would be an independent country, was given to France. Anderson is a bleak but fair-minded historian, alive to the cynicism and prejudice that decided actions on all sides. He shows, for example, how the British war effort was hampered by an ill-advised contempt for Ottoman abilities – evidenced during the disastrous Gallipoli campaign when the allies landed on the very shoreline where the Turks were strongest.