Part 1: A Victorian, Chapters 13, 14, 15 and 16 Summary and Analysis

Gertrude spends three weeks in Baghdad and moves west across the Syrian desert toward Damascus. Along the way, Gertrude is befriended by Bedouin sheikhs but is always alert to thieves and raiding parties of warring tribes. She arrives in Damascus on May 1 completely exhausted. Before long Gertrude is sought out by the British Ambassador in Constantinople who is eager to learn what she had discovered about the people and the area on her journey. The British government is concerned that the Turkish people will align with Germany if a world war were to break out.

By the end of May, Gertrude is back in England where she receives a prestigious gold medal from the Royal Geographical Society. During this time, the Archduke Ferdinand is assassinated and World War I begins. The Turks align...