Born in an age when class and status in life preordained one a priori to a particular station in life, Thomas Edward Chapman aka Lawrence of Arabia rose above such strictures to become universally acclaimed and renowned for his exploits in the Arabian Desert, Transjordan and Mesopotamia. How was that meteoric rise possible for somebody so taciturn, ascetic and iconoclastic in outlook?
Much of which is known about TE Lawrence is discerned from his autobiography entitled The Seven Pillars of Wisdom which I have never actually finished reading in spite of various attempts. Many accounts of Lawrence’s exploits and ordeals are at odds with one another. In broad outline and Lawrence own sang froid attitude have been attested to by many colleagues but Lawrence will forever remain an enigma where one is never able to grasp the real man with any certainty.
Main picture: Thomas Edward Lawrence in traditional Arab garb