A Woman in Arabia: The Writings of the Queen of the Desert (2015) is the semi-autobiographical work of archaeologist, mountaineer, linguist, traveller, adventurer, and nation-builder Gertrude Bell. Editor Georgina Howell compiles Bell’s letters, diaries, articles, reports, books, and other material to form an account of Bell’s life, particularly in the early 1900s. British Gertrude Bell (1868-1926) is the female Lawrence of Arabia. In fact, she was colleagues with T.E. Lawrence, Lawrence of Arabia, who was 20 years her junior. She was friends with everyone, from Sir Winston Churchill to King Faisal of Iraq. Controversial and much-maligned, she was influential in creating an independent Iraq and the Museum of Iraq. Unlucky in love, she commits herself to work and an adventurous life. This is not a linear account. It is sectioned into periods of her life – as The Linguist, The Mountaineer, The Desert Traveller, etc. Unfortunately, it is not a travelogue, as it only