I recently started reading Adrian Greaves’ book “Lawrence of Arabia”.

The second sentence nearly put me off reading the rest of the book… which would have been a shame. It is excellent. (More on that in a moment!) But first… here are the opening words of the preface. Can you spot what I objected to in the second sentence?

Just after the First World War, a young man became a national hero overnight. Known to his family and friends as Colonel T. E. Lawrence, he rapidly became the best known Engishman worldwide and his heroic and almost unbelievable exploits in the biblical deserts of Arabia inspired a flood of newspaper articles, books and films. Alone and wearing the flowing white robes of an Arabian prince…

I’ll give you my answer in a moment, but to make a “spoiler gap” as much as for any other reason, first I’ll tell you why I recommend that you try to learn a bit about Thomas Edward Lawrence, aka “Lawrence of Arabia”.

If you’ve seen David Lean’s film, perhaps I need to say no more about why you might enjoy knowing more about TEL. While the film takes certain dramatic licenses, it isn’t a bad introduction to TEL.

If you decide to read Seven Pillars of Wisdom… and manage at least half… I admire you! For less academic people, like me, Revolt in the Desert is a more manageable “Reader’s Digest” edition. Also written by Lawrence. When and why are a story in themselves.

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Over the years, Lawrence has been seen as a hero to some and a villain to others. You can find books written from either point of view.

I’m not an expert, can’t say whether what Greaves says in his book is true or not, but at least he both praises and criticises Lawrence. And he contests some of the big stories which have become attached to Lawrence.

My answer to “What’s wrong with the second sentence?” is just around the corner! Be sure you’ve finished thinking your thoughts on the matter before scrolling down….

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Thomas Edward Lawrence was not “…known to his family and friends as Colonel T. E. Lawrence…“

He wasn’t even known to them as Tom or Thomas.

He was “Ned” to family and close friends.

But, speakiong of names, this extraordinary man was, at one time or another, known to some people around him as T. E. Shaw or John Hume Ross. More “Lawrence stories” for you to stumble upon, if you look for them! I don’t expect ever to exhaust the supply myself.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._E._Lawrence might be of interest.