Lawrence: My WW1 yarn
Hero’s ‘understatement’ in unseen letter
A PREVIOUSLY unseen letter in which Lawrence of Arabia refers to his epic account of his First World War heroics as a “yarn” is going under the hammer.
TE Lawrence wrote 400,000 words about leading the Arab revolt against the Germansupporting Ottoman Turks.
The manuscript was published as The Seven Pillars of Wisdom in various forms from 1926 and Winston Churchill ranked it “with the greatest books ever written in the English language”.
It was made into the Oscarwinning 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia, starring Peter O’Toole.
In August 1922, Lawrence sought to commission portraits of Army colleagues he served with to illustrate the book.
One of them was Lieutenant Colonel Sir Henry McMahon.
Lawrence told him: “...wrote a yarn of the Arabian effort – in no sense a history but a personal narrative... you figured in it, just a little, at the opening.”
Lawrence had commissioned young artist William Roberts and asked McMahon to sit for him. He wrote: “He’s very young, very callow: like a hollow oyster: but draws wonderfully.”
A second letter after he had seen Roberts’ work gives insight into Lawrence’s wry sense of humour. He said of the portrait: “It’s very severe & structured, wickedly like you, wickedly unlike: technically nearly a great piece of work. Lady McMahon, if she saw it, is no doubt furious: yourself mildly amused: & your critical self is probably pleased.”
The letters, passed down McMahon’s family, are set to fetch £ 5,000 at Bonhams London on December 17.
Manuscripts specialist Sarah Lindberg said: “They are unpublished. They are of significant interest as they show Lawrence was very much involved in the publishing of his autobiography. in
The line about the work being a yarn is a typically British understatement.”
Lawrence died in a motorbike crash near his home at Clouds Hill, Dorset, in May 1935, at 46.