Seven Pillars of Wisdom Study Guide

Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Lawrence is the story of the Arab Revolt against the Turkish Empire and Lawrence's role in it. Lawrence, educated at Oxford, begins by working for a museum on an archaeological dig in the Middle East at the outbreak of the First World War. He is commissioned into the British Army while at the Euphrates and is attached to the Hejaz Expeditionary Force with Lawrence functioning as the British soldier attached to the Arab leadership in the revolt against the Turks. The Arab region is a part of the Ottoman Empire at the opening of the book. Turkey is an ally of Germany in the war and England feels that helping the Arabs defeat the Turks helps England in her war against Germany. (read more)