BELL, Gertrude Lowthian.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

The Arab of Mesopotamia. First edition, first printing, of this official collection of essays written during 1916-17. Due to the poor quality of the paper stock, copies are uncommon in this condition.The first section includes 10 essays, all of which are unattributed. The second (pp. 100-202) has a separate title page entitled "Asiatic Turkey" and naming Bell. Her preface (dated October 1917) states that "these articles were written at the request of the War Office during June and July, 1917. It has been suggested that they might be of some interest to members of the Force serving in Mesopotamia who may not have had opportunity to make acquaintance with the Dominions of the Sultan beyond the battlefields of Gallipoli and the Iraq".Writing to her stepmother, Florence Bell, in September 1918, Bell confirmed that she was the author of all the essays. "I've loved the reviews which speak of the practical men who were the anonymous authors, etc. It's fun being practical men, isn't it" (Letters, 1927, p. 461).

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