'for Only Those Deserve the Name': T. E. Lawrence and Seven Pillars of Wisdom

In Seven Pillars of Wisdom, his epic of the Arab Revolt, T.E. Lawrence wanted to write a work of spiritual greatness comparable to The Brothers Karamazov. This biography shows how post-World War I political developments in the Middle East, and Lawrence's unsettled life and sense of guilt, influenced his published work and contributed to his sense of failure. This is a story coloured by a retrospective vision of history, a post-war Weltanschaung, and the compulsion to present an exemplary personality. This approach has the deepest significance for the interpretation of the Seven Pillars' reliability as a historical source, in particular the interweaving of fantasy and historical truth, and excessive personalisation. The 100th anniversary of the Revolt is opportune. Of especial significance are the revealing of accounts of other participants, and Lawrence's presentation of the Arabs and of history, both of which remain highly topical. The Epilogue, a commentary on an essay (1940) by André Malraux, appraises the meaning of literature in Lawrence's life. To date, Seven Pillars has eluded evaluation. Calderbank's reassessment is long overdue. [Subject: Middle East Studies, History, Literature, Psychology, Biography]