Gertrude Bell

[ardcarp]

I expect many will have heard of Gertrude Bell. I hadn't, and was therefore amazed at the life and achievements of this extraordinarily talented woman, acting at a time (late 19th-early 20th century) when woman were not prominent on the world stage. Mountaineer, linguist, archaeologist, spy, politician and mover-and- shaker in the Middle East...where women were even less respected. She was fluent in Arabic and significant in the founding of Iraq as a country in its own right.

There is a two-part drama on Radio 4 Lines in the Sand: the Journeys of Gertrude Bell (Part 2 yet to come) but of course more can be found out about her from Wiki and other sources.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001pm7n

[smittims]

Thanks for this notice. I too had heard of Gertrude Bell and knew a little of what she had done, but had never read into the subject. I see it's a play rather than a documentary, so I hope it's accurate and not too 're-imagined' or whatever.

Ther have always been isolated occurences of people such as this, who go against the grain and stand out: Socrates, Elizabeth I, Lady Hester Stanhope , Albert Schweitzer. They deserve celebration.

[ardcarp]

I guess it's accurate, having looked her up elsewhere.....and she is the subject of one of Matthew Paris's Great Lives series with Iraqi Jim al-Khalili as guest.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00xhh2q

[ardcarp]

Part 2 was on Radio 4 on Sunday afternoon.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001pt1j