Seven Pillars of Wisdom
T. E. Lawrence
Seven Pillars of Wisdom
FictionNonfictionBiography & MemoirTravel & ExplorationMilitary History & Strategy
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T. E. Lawrence's own account of the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire, from his first meeting with Feisal in 1916 to the fall of Damascus in 1918: the desert marches, the raids on the Hejaz railway, the taking of Akaba, and what the war cost him. The 1926 text; the illustrations of the subscribers' edition are not included.
Contains spoilers for the entire book
- Themes
- Atmosphere
About the book
Seven Pillars of Wisdom is T. E. Lawrence’s account of his part in the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire between 1916 and 1918, from his first meeting with the Emir Feisal to the capture of Aqaba and the entry into Damascus. Lawrence lost most of an early draft at Reading station in 1919 and rewrote it; a private subscribers’ edition appeared in 1926, and the book was published for general readers in 1935, after his death. Lawrence describes desert marches, raids on the Hejaz railway and the politics of tribes and empires in ornate, intensely observed prose. He is also unsparing about himself, writing of physical endurance, cruelty, his divided loyalties between the Arabs and Britain, and his sense that promises made to them would not be kept. The title comes from the Book of Proverbs.
Characters
T. E. Lawrence — Author and participant
A British officer recounting his role in the Arab Revolt and his divided political loyalties.
Emir Feisal — Arab leader
A leader of the revolt with whom Lawrence works in the campaign against Ottoman rule.
Auda abu Tayi — Tribal leader
A forceful Howeitat leader whose experience and fighting men are important to the campaign.
Sherif Nasir — Arab commander
A Hashemite commander who takes part in desert operations alongside Lawrence.
General Allenby — British commander
The commander of British forces whose wider campaign intersects with the Arab Revolt.
Farraj — Young attendant
One of Lawrence's young companions during the hardships of the desert campaign.
Daud — Young attendant
A youthful companion whose service places him close to Lawrence's wartime experiences.
About the author
T. E. Lawrence (1888–1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer and writer, born in Tremadog, Wales, and raised in Oxford. After studying history at Oxford, where he wrote a thesis on Crusader castles, he worked on the excavations at Carchemish in Syria. In the First World War he served as an intelligence officer in Cairo and from 1916 as British liaison to the Emir Feisal in the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire, taking part in the capture of Aqaba and the advance on Damascus. Celebrated after the war as “Lawrence of Arabia”, he argued for Arab independence at the Paris Peace Conference and briefly advised Winston Churchill at the Colonial Office. Then, seeking anonymity, he enlisted in the Royal Air Force and the Tank Corps under assumed names, eventually as T. E. Shaw. Besides Seven Pillars of Wisdom he wrote The Mint and translated the Odyssey. He died in 1935 after a motorcycle accident in Dorset.