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Lawrence of Arabia was a legend in his own lifetime and since his death in 1935, the public fascination with his exploits and complex character has been unending. For many people, Lawrence’s name conjures up the image of actor Peter O’Toole on camel-back cantering across the desert in David Lean’s classic 1962 film. But that heroic image – largely fabricated during the subject’s lifetime by the flamboyant American journalist Lowell Thomas – belied the true man within, tormented by conflicting desires and caught in his own internal clash of civilizations.
Jonathan Fryer’s engrossing study focuses on seven different aspects of Lawrence’s contradictory psyche: orientalism, asceticism, camaraderie, heroism, masochism, rebellion and anonymity. The narrative thrust is largely chronological, following Lawrence through from his youthful Arabic studies in Lebanon to his death in a motorcycle accident in the West Country, and draws heavily on contemporary letters, diaries and newspaper reports.
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