- Hardcover: 224 pages
- Publisher: Faber and Faber; illustrated edition edition (5 May 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0571217532
- ISBN-13: 978-0571217533
- Product Dimensions: 20.4 x 15.8 x 3.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
325,682 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #5 in Books > Travel & Holiday > Countries & Regions > Middle East > Lebanon
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More About the Author
Product Description
Sunday Telegraph
A gripping narrative of a unique woman. [it] vividly evokes the culture and atmosphere of the East.
Independent on Sunday
Lorna Gibb’s gripping and readable new biography … is an elegant, scholarly production
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
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.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I came across references to Hester Stanhope in a book about early women travellers which prompted me to buy this book. I had previously read the marvellous biography of Jane Digby (A Scandalous Life) by Mary Lovell who also travelled to and settled in Syria, albeit later in the 19th century.
This account reads easily and provides a good balance of political and historical background with Hester's personal life. I started off liking her as an intelligent and unconventional woman. I would have liked to know more about her life in England as Pitt the Younger's hostess and feel this is something of an omission. Lorna Gibb is in too much of a hurry to move on to her travels which, while fascinating, lack the background that would have provided some clues to her behaviour. For example she dealt very autocratically with her servants whom she expected to be on call day and night 24/7. This doesn't hang quite right with her sympathy for the plight of the homeless and dispossessed whom she took in, fed and nurtured, despite mounting debts. There is contradiction in her behaviour here which isn't explained.
I did find as the years passed that I grew to dislike this woman who, while dressing as an eastern man and adopting many eastern customs and beliefs, continued to hold court and demand the benefits of her western upbringing. Nevertheless I felt a grudging admiration for her individuality and refusal to bow to any other authority than her own in a brutal world of political and tribal warfare. A brave woman and a distinctive person, even if it is hard to warm to her.
The real hero of the book is her doctor and travelling companion, Charles Meryon, who returned to her again and again whenever she called upon him for help, even though it meant making a hazardous journey taking months and disrupting his family life to do so. What a loyal man. And it is his journals of these many voyages and the time spent with Hester Stanhope that clearly form the basis for much of the research that went into this book.
This account reads easily and provides a good balance of political and historical background with Hester's personal life. I started off liking her as an intelligent and unconventional woman. I would have liked to know more about her life in England as Pitt the Younger's hostess and feel this is something of an omission. Lorna Gibb is in too much of a hurry to move on to her travels which, while fascinating, lack the background that would have provided some clues to her behaviour. For example she dealt very autocratically with her servants whom she expected to be on call day and night 24/7. This doesn't hang quite right with her sympathy for the plight of the homeless and dispossessed whom she took in, fed and nurtured, despite mounting debts. There is contradiction in her behaviour here which isn't explained.
I did find as the years passed that I grew to dislike this woman who, while dressing as an eastern man and adopting many eastern customs and beliefs, continued to hold court and demand the benefits of her western upbringing. Nevertheless I felt a grudging admiration for her individuality and refusal to bow to any other authority than her own in a brutal world of political and tribal warfare. A brave woman and a distinctive person, even if it is hard to warm to her.
The real hero of the book is her doctor and travelling companion, Charles Meryon, who returned to her again and again whenever she called upon him for help, even though it meant making a hazardous journey taking months and disrupting his family life to do so. What a loyal man. And it is his journals of these many voyages and the time spent with Hester Stanhope that clearly form the basis for much of the research that went into this book.
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A lively book about a very exciting lady. Very well researched with excellent links to the situation in Lebanon today. I recommend this to anyone who likes Regency books, the Middle East, or interesting, unusual women.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Why?
A very well researched and documented book but it lacked emotion. Why did we need another account of Lady Hester?
Published 3 months ago by Catriona M. Harrison
Great lady!
Lady Hester was an extraordinary woman, especially for her time. This book was selected by someone in my Book Club, though I might have chosen it myself before I read it. Read more
Published 17 months ago by texell
Lady Hester is horrid!
I can't fault the prose, it's just the subject I don't like very much. Hester's enduring love for her uncle and for the selfish Michael,do not counterbalance her negative... Read more
Published on 26 Dec 2009 by Van
gripping lecture
This biography offers a very intersting insight in the society of the early 19th century and the political events of the time. Read more
Published on 15 Jun 2009 by onlinereader
An enthralling tale
This is a real find of a book. Gibb writes like a novelist and really captures the drama and adventures of Lady Hester's life. Read more
Published on 1 Feb 2008 by PaulM
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. Read more
Published on 28 Dec 2005 by "jomurray15"
My favourite present
I received this book as a Christmas present from my husband because I spent several years in Syria and Lebanon. Read more
Published on 28 Dec 2005 by "jesskgibb"
Time flies
My partner bought this for me because he thought that I might like it. As I travel for a total of 2 hours each day on trains I usually consume books on a weekly basis, and for two... Read more
Published on 3 Nov 2005 by Hester Fan
A thrilling and educational read
This is probably the best bio I've read in a couple of years. Really exciting stuff put together by a writer who for once knows how not to alienate the general reader by an... Read more
Published on 31 Oct 2005 by "hbrown172"
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... Read more
Published on 19 Oct 2005 by Pablo
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