The Real T E Lawrence

His Life and Legacy

Andrew Norman

• Publisher: White Owl
• Year: 2025
• eBook ISBN: 9781036111274
• Edition: 0
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Modern British History
• Index: History

Explores the enduring mysteries of Lawrence's postwar obscurity and complex sexuality.

T. E. Lawrence, soldier and writer, the co-leader with King Faisal of Saudi Arabia of the Arab Campaign during the First World War, became a legend in his own lifetime. And yet to this day there is much about him which remains a mystery: two aspects of his character being of particular interest.

This first is why, having become a famous figure with the world at his feet, did he choose, subsequently, to live a life of obscurity in the lower ranks of the armed services?

The second concerns Lawrence’s sexuality. Some of his biographers have been accused of bringing ‘sex’ into their volumes, for reasons of sensationalism and publicity. To be fair, however, it was Lawrence himself who first raised the subject, by including in his book Seven Pillars of Wisdom (an account of the Desert Campaign), details of how he was captured and raped by the Turks. Lawrence, who never married, is known to have engaged in masochistic rituals. So, what was the true nature of, and explanation for his sexuality?

This is the challenge of The Real T. E. Lawrence.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half-Title Page
• Dedication
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• About the Author
• Acknowledgements
• Author’s Note
• Preface
• Prologue
• Chapter 1 His Mother, Sarah
• Chapter 2 His Father, Thomas
• Chapter 3 Doctor Hogarth and Syria
• Chapter 4 Dahoum
• Chapter 5 Lord Kitchener
• Chapter 6 Emir Abdullah
• Chapter 7 Lawrence’s Role
• Chapter 8 Gertrude Bell
• Chapter 9 Sherif Hussein
• Chapter 10 Emir Feisal
• Chapter 11 The Arab Campaign
• Chapter 12 General Allenby
• Chapter 13 Disillusionment
• Chapter 14 Degradation
• Chapter 15 Was Lawrence Recognised by the Turks? Was he Betrayed?
• Chapter 16 Rape as a Weapon of War
• Chapter 17 Onward to Victory
• Chapter 18 Discord
• Chapter 19 Churchill and the Paris Peace Conference
• Chapter 20 Seven Pillars of Wisdom
• Chapter 21 Churchill Attempts to Make Amends
• Chapter 22 Dream and Reality
• Chapter 23 Sir Hugh Trenchard and the RAF
• Chapter 24 Bovington Camp and Clouds Hill
• Chapter 25 John Bruce’s Story
• Chapter 26 A Return to the RAF
• Chapter 27 The Mint
• Chapter 28 E. M. Forster
• Chapter 29 George Bernard Shaw
• Chapter 30 Charlotte Shaw
• Chapter 31 Thomas Hardy
• Chapter 32 Florence Hardy
• Chapter 33 Robert Graves
• Chapter 34 Lady Astor
• Chapter 35 Deraa and the Alleged Rape: Was Lawrence Telling the Truth?
• Chapter 36 Rape Trauma Syndrome
• Chapter 37 Lawrence’s Sexual Orientation
• Chapter 38 The Crash
• Chapter 39 A Reappraisal of the Crash
• Chapter 40 The Funeral: Aftermath
• Chapter 41 The Effigy
• Chapter 42 Wendy Vallance: New Light on Lawrence’s Final Days
• Chapter 43 T. E. Shaw – ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ – Happy Years Spent as Mechanic and Boatman: Lawrence’s Contribution to Air-Sea Rescue
• Chapter 44 T. E. Lawrence: Sir Hugh Cairns and Road Safety
• Epilogue
• Appendix 1
• Appendix 2
• Appendix 3
• Appendix 4
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index
• Plates