Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell,  (14 July 1868 – 12 July 1926) was an English writer, traveller, political officer, administrator, and archaeologist who explored, mapped, and became highly influential to British imperial policy-making due to her knowledge and contacts, built up through extensive travels in Syria-Palestine, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, and Arabia.

Along with T. E. Lawrence, Bell helped support the Hashemite dynasties in what is today Jordan as well as in Iraq. She played a major role in establishing and helping administer the modern state of Iraq, using her unique perspective from her travels and relations with tribal leaders throughout the Middle East. During her lifetime she was highly esteemed and trusted by British officials and exerted an immense amount of power. She has been described as “one of the few representatives of His Majesty’s Government remembered by the Arabs with anything resembling affection”.

“Gertrude Bell.” Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gertrude_Bell. Accessed 22 Nov. 2021.

Amazing Gertrude Bell Comics:

Newcastle University

‌ ‌ ‌She travelled round the world twice, investigated archaeological sites through the Syrian Desert to Asia Minor, and became a powerful force in Iraqi politics. Gertrude established the Iraq Museum in Baghdad, and served as the Honorary Director of Antiquities in Iraq. These digital comics present snapshots of Gertrude’s life and work.

UNESCO Memory of the World Register:

• Gertrude Bell Archive

Trailer for Werner Herzog’s 2015 Film Queen of the Desert, with Nicole Kidman as Gertrude Bell

International Trailer

International Trailer A chronicle of Gertrude Bell’s life, a traveler, writer, archaeologist, explorer, cartographer, and political attaché for the British Empire at the dawn of the twentieth century.