The superb biography of the unconquerable, self-driven T. E. Lawrence, one of the twentieth century's most fascinating heroes ...." A remarkable book ... more startling and contro versia I than anything arrived at hitherto by Lawrence's biographers." - LONDON SUNDAY TIMES "'O c ro ..<.l.J. <lJ 0. E u0 ::.:'. 0 0 (I) 1- w z CJ THOMAS EDWARD LAWRENCE wast hei llegiticmhaitloedf a n Irisbha roneatn,d t hes tigmoaf bastarldayyh eaviloyn t himsa n who wast ob ecomoen eo ft he mosto utstandfiignurge si n recenhti story. Whatc ompulsiodnr ovLea wrencae , studeonfta rchaeolotog gyr,as ph ihsi s­ toricr oleW?h y didh e rideacr oss Arabia'esn dlessasn dhsu,d dilnenomad tenttsh,es elf-aopipntEendg liesmhi s­ sarcyo nejrri ngs ecrewtiltyth h Aer abs? Why didh es tortmh ec itadeolfst he Englitsohp leatdh eA rabc austeoG en­ eral AllenHbowy ?d idh ee ndurcaep ­ turaen dt ortuirnDe e raaW?ha t untold strengltehhd i mt oe scaapned u ltimate victory? Thisb iograptheyl hliss s tory­ thes toroyf a man whoa chievtehde impossiabnldew ,h otu rned awayf rom ther ewardosfh isl abowrh en recognitwiaosan t h andr,e tiring into theo bscurfirtoym w hichhe c ame . may sterifioguusr teo t hel ast. • • Outstanding SIGNET Biographies :Acr ONE by Moss Hart Thef amous playwrighta ndd irecttoelr ls ofb isear ly life,fr om poverty-stribcokyehnoo dt ob isfi rsbti g Broadwsauyc ceBBin, this fBBCinatinbges tseller. (# Tl849-75¢) THE YEA.BS WITH Ross by James Thurber A superbelnyt ertaibniinogg raopfhH yar oldR ossec­, centricf oundeanrd editoofrT he New Yorker, byi ts mostf amoush umorist".. • • a superbm emoiorf a man, a magazine ande rinaan Americjano urnalism"­ Saturday Review Syndicate. (#T2020-75¢) THE SEVEN STOREY MouNTAJN by Thomas Merton Thes pirituaault obiogroafap yhoyun gm an whowi th· drew from a full, worldlliyf eto the seclusioofna Trappmiosntas tery. (# T929-75¢) THE NIGHT THEY BURNEDTH E MOUNTAIN by Thomas A. Dooley, MD. Dr.D ooley'asc counotf t hef oundingo fb ijsun glheo s­ pitatlh,eg rowtohfh iosr ganizatioMnE DICOan,d the beginning ofhi s own gallantfi ghatg aincsantc er-. (#Dl974-50¢) B.T.C. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA THE MAN AND THE MOTIVE by Anthony Nutting A SIGNET BOOK PUBLISHED BY 'IllE NEW AMERICAN LmRARY @ANTHONY NUTTIN G,1 961 All rightsr eserveNdo. parto ft hibso okm ay ber eproduced in anyf orm withowuritt tepne rmissiforno mt hep ublisher. Forinf ormationa ddreCslsa rksNo.n P otteIrn,c ., 56E ast6 6thS treeNte,w Y ork2 1,N ew York. FIRSTPRIN TING, DECEMBER, 1962 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authowri shest oe xprehisss t hanktsot hef ollowing: ProfessA.or W . Lawrence Dr. M. R. Lawrence Mrs. EricK ennington Dr. Ernest Altounyan M. JeanB erauVdil lars Sir AlecK irkbride Mr.W renH oward CaptaBinas ilL iddeHllart ColonFe.l P eake Mr.D aviGdarn ett Mr.L owellT homas TheRi ght Hon.T heL ordW ard The authoarl saoc knowledwgietshg ratituthdee permissiono f T.E .L awrencep'usb lishe(rsJ onatChaapne L,o ndonan,d Double­ day& Company, Inc.N,e w York)t oq uotfreo m TheL etteorfs T.E .L awrencee,d itbeydD avid Garnett (Co1p9y38ri, g1h93t9 byD oubled&a Cyo mpany,I nc.an)d The SePvielnl oafrW sis dom. A hardbouenddi tioofLn a wrenocfeA rabiisa p ublisbhyeC dl ark­ sonN .P otteIrn,c . BJGNllT TB&DBHABK BBG. u.e.P AT. on . .lND .OBBION OOUNTB illl BJllGIB'l'!IB111DT BADllHAB:S::-KABO.l BBIGIBTB.ADA BBOBO BN OBIOAGO. D.B.A. SIGNETB OOKS arep ublisbhye d TheN ew AmericLainb raoryf W orlLdi teratIunrce., 501 MadisoAnv enueN,e w York2 2,N ew York PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA CONTENTS PROLOGUE 7 1 REVOLT IN ARABIA 14 2 IN SEARCH OF A PROPHET 19 3 LAWRENCE MEETS FEISAL 24 4 THE KINGMAKER'S DREAM 28 5 A TURKISH REVERSE 34 6 ADVANCE IN THE HEJAZ 41 7 WEJH CAPTURED 46 8 GATHERING THE TRIBES 51 9 ABDULLA DISAPPOINTS 59 10 GOING IT ALONE 63 11 AKABA CAPTURED 71 12 ALLENBY MEETS LAWRENCE 81 13 RAILWAY RAIDING 86 14 NORTH TO AZRAK 95 15 FAILURE AT YARMUK 101 16 CAPTURE AND TORTURE 108 17 BATTLE AT TAFILEH 114 18 ATTEMPTED ABDICATION 121 19 ADVANCE AND WITHDRAWAL 128 20 FEISAL DISOWNED 135 21 SELF-ANALYSIS 141 ' 22 CLIPPING THE ENEMYS ARTERIES 147 23 MASSACRE AND COUNTER-MASSACRE 153 24 DAMASCUS 159 25 EXIT AND RE-ENTRY 169 26 CONFUSION IN CONFERENCE 175 27 A SYRIAN TRAGEDY 183 28 BACKING INTO THE LIMELIGHT 193 29 ATONEMENT IN ARABIA 198 " " 30 SEVEN PILLARS OF WISDOM 205 31 REDUCED TO THE RANKS 215 " " 32 PER ARDUA AD ASTRA 223 33 THE MOTIVE 230 BIBLIOGRAPHY 241 INDEX 243 oooooooooooooo�PROLOGUE On 16th August 1888 at Tremadoc in Wales a second son was born to a Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence. Named Thomas Edward, he was in fact the illegitimate child of Sir Thomas Robert Chapman, 7th Baronet of West­ meath in Ireland, who had left his wife and four daughters to elope with the children's governess, a Miss Sara Maden. Chapman changed his name to Law­ rence and moved from Ireland to Wales and from then on he and Sara Maden lived together as husband and wife. Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence had five sons-B- ob (M.R.), who became a medical missionary in China until 1935, after which he devoted his life to looking after his mother; Ned (T.E.), who became the legend­ ary and controversial "Lawrence of Arabia"; Will (W.G.) and Frank (F.H.), who were killed in action in World War I; and Arnold (A.W.), who became a professor of archaeology at Cambridge and is today T.E.'s literary executor. Bob, the eldest, and Arnold, the youngest, are the only members of the family still alive. T.E. died of injuries from a motor-cycle accident in 1935, the father succumbed to the in­ fluenza epidemic in 1919 and the mother died in 1959 only two years short of a hundred years of age. T.E. was a year old when the family moved to Scotland and then later to the Isle of Man, Jersey and France. When he was eight they finally settled in Oxford where the boys were educated at the High School and later at the University. A precocious youngster known for his omnivorous 7 8 LAWRENCE OF ARABIA reading, T .E. early acquired an interest in archaeology and in such related subjects as ancient architecture, heraldry, armour, old manuscripts, pottery and relics of all kinds. Gradually his interest concentrated on mediaeval castles and fortifications. According to his own account, related in later years to intimate friends, he was about ten years old when his father told him the facts of his birth-that his parents were not and could not be married, because Lady Chapman would never consent to divorce her husband. This discovery seems to have instilel d in T.E. an obsession to prove himself better than his fellows, to show that in spite of his background-which set him apart from all his friends and associates.-he could excel them in every way. This compulsion was in part responsible for driving him throughout three quarters of his life to make superhuman demands upon his mind and body. Yet the shadow of shame that, in this era of Vic­ torian morals, lay across the Lawrence family's origins did not manifest itself in any way to the out­ side world, to which they gave the impression of being a most respectable as well as affectionate and closely­ knit family. This was due in large part to Sara Lawrence, a Scotswoman with an outstanding char­ acter, a commanding personality and an iron will which T .E. inherited from her more than any other of her sons. A tremendous puritan, Sara was haunted throughout her life by the sin she had committed and sought to make amends by bringing up her children with love and affection but with the strictest disci­ pline, reinforced by regular attendance at church and Sunday school. The father, although a well-educated man, never took up a job, being born and raised among the squirearchy of Ireland to believe that his task in life should be to devote himself to good family manage­ ment and a proper pursuit of sport in one form or another. He was a keen yachtsman, and a crack shot. In the latter part of his life he developed a craze for