Memoirs of the Lady Hester Stanhope

1845

Special Collections DA536 S8 A3 1845

London: Henry Colburn

At 34, Lady Hester Stanhope (1776-1839) left England for the Middle East, never to return. This forceful and opinionated (according to William Pitt, her uncle) woman was a risk taker, certainly in a world dominated by male social and religious customs. En route to Cairo, Stanhope lost all her possessions. She refused to wear a veil, and adopted male attire. Indeed, she met the local Pasha wearing a purple velvet robe, embroidered trousers, waistcoat, jacket, and a sabre. Known as ‘Queen Hester’, she undertook the first archaeological dig in Palestine, excavating the ruins of Ashkelon, north of Gaza. She retired to Sidon, halfway between Tyre and Beirut, reclusive, but still forceful. This is volume one of Stanhope’s Memoirs.