Sub-title

The sub-title, 'a triumph', was evidently an afterthought, either intended ironically, or as a genuine judgement on the outcome of the Arabian affair after the 1921 peace settlement achieved by Churchill - of which a footnote on p 257 of the book [tr ed p 276], printed in red, declares 'he made straight all the tangle, finding solutions fulfilling (I think) our promises in letter and spirit (where humanly possible) without sacrificing any interest of our Empire or any interest of the peoples concerned. So we were quit of the wartime Eastern adventure, with clean hands, but three years too late to earn the gratitude which peoples, if not states, can pay.' The original sub-title on the handwritten title page of the last complete manuscript draft is 'An essay in Rebellion/1916-1917-1918'. This has been crossed out and 'a triumph' pencilled in underneath.

Next section - Early plans

The writing of Seven Pillars of Wisdom - full listing