Did you know Gertrude’s father Sir Hugh Bell was a supporter of trade unions public libraries and schools His desire to treat people fairly shaped how Gertrude interacted with peoples in the Middle East Meet the Boss Gertrude Bell 1868 1926 was born into one of the wealthiest families in Great Britain during the reign of Queen Victoria A woman of her class was expected to become a wife and mother but Gertrude had other ideas WEALTHY FAMILY Born into money The Bells were said to be the sixth richest family in Great Britain Gertrude’s grandfather Sir Isaac Lowthian Bell right was a scientist He used his knowledge to build the largest iron-working and coal mining company in England The business employed 47,000 people The Bells were known for treating their employees fairly Gertrude was brought up to believe it was important to look after less fortunate people DEVASTATING LOSS Loses mother age three Close bond with father In 1871 Gertrude’s mother Mary died after giving birth to Gertrude’s baby brother Maurice For the rest of her life Gertrude was extremely close to her father Hugh left who brought up the children Hugh and Gertrude were devoted to each other for the rest of their lives 4 TRAVEL WITH THE GREAT EXPLORERS
A HAPPY FAMILY Stepmother writes plays Encourages Gertrude In August 1876 Hugh Bell married his second wife Gertrude’s new stepmother was 24-year-old Florence Olliffe who was a successful playwright Florence was also interested in social issues She wrote a ground breaking study on the lives of poor workers Florence believed that it was not enough simply to talk about social problems She taught Gertrude that people of their privileged background could become involved in improving the lives of others Education Gertrude was very smart At 15 she was sent to London as her parents felt she needed a more challenging school The teachers recommended women at the time Gertrude go to Oxford University which was rare for FEMALE PIONEER Gertrude works hard Gertrude went to Oxford University in 1886 and studied at Lady Margaret Hall above It was one of only two Oxford colleges that admitted women Not only did Gertrude graduate a year ahead of schedule she also gained the highest mark of the year in Modern History She was the first woman to ever achieve this Her success was even announced in The Times A DIFFERENT COURSE Breaking society’s rules Gertrude was adventurous and independent She also had ideas of her own about her future She did not want simply to become a wife and mother like other women of her class Instead she wanted to travel and explore the world She wanted to make a difference in the world and to help people EXPLORE WITH GERTRUDE BELL 5
Where Are We Heading After university Gertrude traveled widely including making two round-the-world trips She found herself particularly drawn to the Middle East Did you know are now Arabia Syria Iraq and Iran Although Gertrude traveled widely her main interest was the Middle East She spent many years exploring and living in the deserts and cities of what A FIRST TRIP To Constantinople Via Bucharest In December 1888 Gertrude made her first long distance trip She and her step aunt Lady Lascelles traveled to Bucharest in Romania to visit Gertrude’s uncle who was a British official there From Romania Gertrude traveled to the capital of the huge Ottoman Empire Constantinople modern day Istanbul above Gertrude arrived in April 1889 She fell in love with the city Constantinople marked the place where Europe and Asia met It was her first contact with the Middle East 6 TRAVEL WITH THE GREAT EXPLORERS GLOBAL TRAVELER Circles the world twice Gertrude had the traveling bug She and her brother Maurice traveled around the world in 1897 and then again in 1902 and 1903 They stayed in the best hotels and traveled first class On the first trip they sailed across the Atlantic and then went on to Japan On the second trip they visited India before traveling east to Singapore China Korea and Japan They also crossed the United States where Gertrude climbed in the Rocky Mountains
INTO PERSIA First visit to Middle East Travels on luxury train Before the first of her world trips in 1897 Gertrude got the chance to go back to Constantinople In 1892 she traveled through Europe on the famous Orient Express a luxury railroad train From Constantinople she went by boat to Tehran above the capital of Persia now Iran Gertrude loved Persia so much that she decided to learn Persian When she returned home she wrote a book about her travels Persian Pictures was published in 1894 TRAVEL UPDATE TRAVEL UPDATE Learn the Language If you want to get to know a place learn to speak to local people As Gertrude Bell became more interested in the Middle East she spent many hours studying Persian Later she went on to learn Arabic Gertrude was a gifted linguist She learned to speak both languages fluently enough to talk to everyone she met At the time it was unusual for a European to learn such languages and especially a woman My Explorer Journal Imagine that you are Gertrude Bell and that you are traveling on a luxury train What sort of facilities do you think such a train should have and why ON TOP OF THE WORLD Enthusiastic mountaineer Gertrude was a skilled mountain climber She climbed many difficult peaks in Europe and North America including the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc above in the Alps The first peak she climbed the Meije was also in the Alps It was 13,068 feet 3,983 m high Because women’s clothing at the time was not suited for physical activity Gertrude climbed in her underclothes She later said that she was terrified Despite several accidents she kept climbing throughout her life EXPLORE WITH GERTRUDE BELL 7
