Gertrude Bell's funeral, Baghdad, 12th July How someone died is not always relevant to how they lived; but in the case of Gertrude Bell, I believe that the circumstances of her death tell us a great deal about how she felt about her own life - which in turn casts light on a whole host of historical contingencies of that era, not least the impacts of class and sex, during a time when the Middle East was being carved up and re-plated for Western consumption. I've studied Gertrude Bell's work for over 25 years.
I never felt especially attracted or connected on any personal level to the woman who manifests herself in her writings, but was always fascinated by the richness of her archaeological and photographic output and how that legacy was handled. Yet, just lately, I find myself being drawn again and again to read about the circumstances of her death. I think I know why this is, and it certainly is personal - this year I'll be the age she was when she died. And I think I've finally found the connection that was missing.
The death of Gertrude Bell on the 12th July , from an overdose of 'sleeping pills' in her bedroom in Baghdad, is now well documented in her biographies, and in more recent years it has certainly been fairly openly discussed in terms of suicide. I understand the sensitivities that previously existed around this, particularly for the surviving family members. Suicide was illegal, and I imagine there would have been a desire to protect her long-serving maid, Marie, from any criticism or punishment, as well as Bell's reputation and legacy.
I remember giving a talk to the Palestine Exploration Fund in the early s, having returned from fieldwork for the Gertrude Bell Photographic Project , and being extremely circumspect in what I had to say about Bell's final days and death. But biographers like Wallach and Howell have now addressed this subject more overtly, and I don't think we're doing Bell any favours by not exploring this element of her story.
Why would a woman as brilliant as she - as accomplished, as well-known - either take her own life or be so reckless with the risks of such a large and lethal dose of sleeping pills? There were a number of reasons why Bell was extremely unhappy, some due to circumstances outside her control, and some which were part of her character.
