By Andrew Norman
Pen and Sword, 2005
Reviewed by David F. Beer
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| Lawrence and Lowell Thomas |
The 44 chapters of this book are interesting, informative, and short—each chapter averaging about two pages. Yet these pages provide an amazing amount of information on Lawrence as he lived his life before and after his legendary adventures in WWI Arabia. Author Andrew Norman states the overriding purpose of his book is to investigate two specific aspects of Lawrence’s life: why after achieving international fame from his desert exploits did he adamantly live his life in public obscurity, and second, what was the truth about his sexuality?
In attempting to answer these questions the author inevitably touches on many other aspects of Lawrence’s life. We learn much about his early childhood and the emotional affects his mother Sarah Lawrence had upon him. We follow his prewar travels to Syria and Lebanon and to the influence of Doctor Hogarth and, particularly, of a handsome young Muslim boy named Dahoum, who was a mixture of Hittite and Arab and who was a good wrestler. He and Lawrence became extremely close. One day the two visited a remote ruin,
…the clay of which had, originally, been kneaded of the oils of flowers whose aroma had persisted right up to the present time. The guides led Lawrence from room to room, saying, ‘this is jessamine, this violet, this rose,’ when suddenly Dahoum said, ‘Come smell the very sweetest scent of all!’ It was the desert, which they ‘drank with open mouths. (pp.24-25).
As is well known, victory in the Great War was for Lawrence a defeat since he saw all his efforts and hopes betrayed by the final terms of the Sykes-Picot Agreement. Thus a question the author explores is to what extent did the betrayal of the Arabs influence Lawrence’s social choices after the war? Moreover, did the sexual degradation Lawrence suffered at the hands of the Turks during his brief captivity in Deraa reflect or influence his own sexuality?
In these chapters we meet numerous figures Lawrence came to know and who had various and sometimes subtle effects on both his psyche and social activities. Many are more fully described elsewhere, especially in his classic Seven Pillars of Wisdom, which, Winston Churchill claimed, “ranks with the greatest books ever written in the English language” (p. 63). In Norman’s book we get short but relevant glimpses of Gertude Bell, Emir Abdullah, Sherif Hussein, George Bernard Shaw, Thomas Hardy, Robert Graves, E. M. Forster, and several others. Rumors and uncertain episodes are recited as such and will probably never be determined—so much about “the real T. E. Lawrence,” including the working of his mind and his true sexuality, will perhaps remain an intriguing mystery.
The final six chapters focus on the tragic end of Lawrence’s life. We all know he died “in a motorcycle accident,” motorcycles having been a life-long interest of his. Several black-and-white photos of the scene are included. Even here some cloudiness and legend persist, but as the author points out, the sadly tragic facts are there. Also, and I didn’t know this, his death was the beginning of a serious social concern about the wearing of safety helmets.
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This is not a difficult book to read, and it is packed with details and intrigues, including a focus on his younger life and later service in the RAF. If you are a T. E. Lawrence follower, as I am, you will enjoy it.
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