Lawrence and the Arabs

I have his most generous permission, with that of his trustees, to use copyright material at my discretionÑbut certain limits were givenÑboth fromÊRevolt in the DesertÊand fromÊSeven Pillars of WisdomÊ(of which that is an abridgment), a book that will not be issued for public sale in ShawÕs lifetime. Unfortunately owing to pressure of time my completed typescript could not be submitted to Shaw before publication and I apologize to him for any passages where my discretion has been at fault. I did, however, write and ask him specific questions and sent him rough drafts of nearly all my material. I must, however, draw a clear line between ShawÕs approval of my writing the book if it had to be written, and my own responsibility for the facts and opinions given here.

These chapters contain much that is of interest, I hope, even to readers of theÊSeven Pillars of Wisdom; and readers ofÊRevolt in the DesertÊmay be glad of a narrative that is continuous. Critics must remember that Shaw, when preparing theÊSeven PillarsÊfor private circulation, had in mind an audience of not more than a couple of hundred people and that he consequently had greater freedom in his vocabulary than I have had; and could also assume a specialized knowledge of Eastern history, geography and politics in his audience that I am not permitted to assume.

I have tried to give a picture of an exasperatingly complex personality in the easiest possible terms. I have tried also to make a difficult story as clear as may be by a cutting-down of the characters that occur in it; mentioning by name only the outstanding ones and explaining the rest in such terms as Ôa member of the body-guard,Õ Ôa British Staff-officer with Feisal,Õ Ôa major-general,Õ Ôa French colonel,Õ Ôthe chief of the Beni Sakhr,Õ etc. (Geography has been similarly simplified; the maps have been designed so that few places occur on them that are not mentioned in that part of the story to which they refer, and few or no places are mentioned in the story that are not to be found on the maps.)

This is not the method of history, but history, which is the less readable the more historical it is, will not eventually be hindered by anything I have written. I have attempted a critical study of ÔLawrenceÕÑthe popular verdict that he is the most remarkable living Englishman, though I dislike such verdicts, I am inclined to acceptÑrather than a general review of the Arab freedom movement and the part played by England and France in regard to it. And there has been a space-limit.