Lawrence of Arabia Controversy
Aldington had commenced his work as an admirer of Lawrence, but, as a result of his research, came to view Lawrence critically. The extent of Aldington’s research for this book, and his evolving views of Lawrence, are demonstrated in his letters to Alan Bird (A Passionate Prodigality, Letters to Alan Bird from Richard Aldington 1949–1962, New York Public Library, 1975), who acted as an unpaid researcher for him.
Aldington attracted particular opprobrium by disclosing Lawrence’s illegitimacy despite Lawrence’s mother still being alive, and by questioning Lawrence’s veracity. As Lawrence’s supporters caught wind of the direction that Aldington’s book was taking, they actively sought to prevent the book’s publication. Aldington completed the book in 1952, but it was not published until 1955, and then only after exhaustive legal review. It was rapidly, if reluctantly, acknowledged that Aldington’s conclusions were broadly correct.
Aldington’s struggle to justify his work on Lawrence and to enable the book’s publication meant that he was unable to publish another book until 1954.
Richard Aldington
Lawrence l’Imposteur: “T.E. Lawrence, the Legend and the Man”
Paris, Amiot-Dumont, 1954
Due to legal delays over the British publication, Aldington’s Lawrence of Arabia; A Bibliographical Enquiry was first published in France under this unfortunate title. This copy bears the bookplate of David Garnett, a friend of Lawrence who had edited The Letters of T.E. Lawrence (Jonathan Cape, London, 1939), and who was a member of the group of Lawrence’s friends who sought to prevent the publication of Aldington’s biography.
Richard Aldington
Lawrence of Arabia; A Biographical Enquiry
London, Collins, 1954
This is a late uncorrected proof copy. The book was subject to extensive legal review and press interest and was the subject of intense efforts by friends of Lawrence to halt publication. As a result, proof copies were carefully controlled.
Richard Aldington
Lawrence of Arabia; A Biographical Enquiry
London, Collins, 1955
The book, which was started in 1951, was finally published in 1954. Notably, the dust jacket contains no blurb or biography of the author. Despite the success of the volume, Collins did not reprint it. Aldington put his fees for this work into a trust for his daughter.
Richard Aldington
Why I Debunked the Lawrence Legend
Illustrated, London, February 5, 1955
Aldington’s biography of T.E. Lawrence, Lawrence of Arabia: A Biographical Enquiry was highly controversial due to its perceived bias against a leading British hero. There was a concerted effort to stop the book’s publication. Aldington’s conclusions were broadly accepted, but Aldington remained a pariah, and his literary income collapsed. This article shows Aldington fighting back.
Gustav Cohen
“Affaire Aldington contre Lawrence d’Arabie”
Extrait de Hommes et Mondes, Tome XIX, No. 116, Mars 1956
Paris, 1956
An article in support of Aldington by his old friend Gustav Cohen, a professor of medieval literature at the Sorbonne, and translator into French of Aldington’s A Dream in the Luxembourg. This copy was signed by Aldington and sent by him to George F. Sims, the British book-dealer who had visited Aldington in Montpellier and bought a number of items from Aldington; it bears two of Sims’s bookplates.
Basil Liddell Hart and Richard Aldington
“T. E. Lawrence, Aldington and the Truth. Richard Aldington’s Reply and Captain Liddell Hart’s Comments”
Reprint from The London Magazine, August 1955
In its April 1955 edition, The London Magazine printed a scathing review of Aldington’s Lawrence of Arabia: A Bibliographical Inquiry by Basil Liddell Hart, a friend and an early biographer of T.E. Lawrence and a well-known military authority. This offprint includes Aldington’s reply to that review and Liddell Hart’s comments thereon.
Philip Knightley
“Aldington’s Enquiry Concerning T.E. Lawrence,”
Texas Quarterly, Winter 1973, Vol. XVI: No. 4
Austin, Texas: University of Texas, 1973
Philip Knightley, co-author with Colin Simpson of The Secret Lives of Lawrence of Arabia (Nelson, London, 1969), discusses the opposition to publication of Aldington’s Lawrence of Arabia; A Biographical Enquiry. It had originally been hoped to include this article in The Secret Lives of Lawrence of Arabia, but there was no space.
Fred D. Crawford
Richard Aldington and Lawrence of Arabia: A Cautionary Tale
Carbondale, IL, Southern Illinois University Press, 1998
Crawford provides a full description of the opposition faced by Aldington and Collins in publishing Lawrence of Arabia; A Biographical Enquiry, particularly from David Garnett, Robert Graves, Basil Liddell Hart and A.W. Lawrence, T.E. Lawrence’s younger brother.
