Product Description

Features the biography of a great British traveller - the tall, headstrong, and charismatic Lady Hester Stanhope, who defied social convention to become a powerful figure in the Middle East.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #33491 in Books
• Published on: 2006-05-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Review
"'A gripping narrative of a unique woman. Vividly evokes the culture and atmosphere of the East.' Sunday Telegraph 'Flawlessly written.' Frances Wilson, Guardian 'Enthralling... Charts the fate of a radical spirit in a revolutionary age.' Traveller"

Independent on Sunday
Lorna Gibb’s gripping and readable new biography … is an elegant, scholarly production

Jan Morris
Clever, irrepressible, dispassionate, amused - a perfect mirror to the life of one of history’s most fantastical women.

Customer Reviews

Lady hester
This is the biography of a truly remarkable woman. She seems to me to be a perfect example of what we in the Netherlands often think of as eccentric English women. Having said that, this biography is so much more than just an interesting subject. The writing is elegant and atmospheric, the author's involvement minimal and therefore all the more powerful on the rare occasions it does make an appearance. Hester is not a likeable person, but she does, as the author says, 'provoke'. I was drawn to read this by the sheer number of positive reviews in the British press while I was working there earlier in the year. For once I really think this book deserves all its praise. It was good to read a book where Middle Eastern characters are as wholly drawn as those from Europe. Like Hester, they are not always people you might want as friends, but nevertheless, through Lorna Gibb's narrative we are able to see a little of their motivation and view it within the context of their time and location. The after years of Meryon when his days with Hester are long behind him are both poignant and memorable. The only flaw in an otherwise great book I could find was that I would have liked to read even more about Hester's legacy (Gibb does cover this but I would have liked an extended chapter), but this is a picky remark about a wonderful book.

Exciting and Incredible
I took this book on my winter holiday to Egypt. Lying on the beach I found myself caught up in Hester's extraordinary world. Gibb's descriptions are evocative of a time and a place and a world that draws the reader in. Beautifully written, carefully researched, a lovely book.

Evokes both the person and her adopted land
Lady Hester Stanhope was a fascinating woman and well worthy of this new biography. It not only describes the turbulent times and dangerous exploits of an indomitable character in her prime but also evokes the sad loneliness of her later years. Ms Gibb has clearly done her research and splendidly recreates Lady Hester's character through what seems to be some new research into her letters and those of others. Above all this book has a wonderful sense of place - the author has travelled through Lebanon in the footsteps of her subject and clearly evokes the land in which Lady Hester became such a legend. It is rare to find a biography that balances its scholarship so well against such page-turning readability.