Persistent Stereotypes of Bedouin in British Travel Writing 1900–2022

Abstract

This thesis examines the representation of Bedouin people by British travel writers who published between 1900 and 2022. A comparative study that looks briefly at historical texts for an understanding of genre development, it focuses on travel writing published from 1900 onwards where authors travelled with, to, or through Bedouin communities. It considers whether past representation of Bedouin can be classified as stereotyped and whether this persists into the twenty-first century. Examining travelogues by T.E. Lawrence, Charles Doughty, St. John Philby, Bertram Thomas, and Freya Stark and considering interreferential connections between narratives, the research breaks down the myth of authenticity developed by writers who instrumentalise Bedouin to assert their own authority. Beginning with evidence of childhood dreams found in the narratives, this study identifies the importance of intertextual inherited imagery and considers elements of language, and fictionalisation. Analysing literary representations of Bedouin in narratives by Wilfred Thesiger, Colin Thubron, and Michael Asher, this study identifies how linguistic devices indicate the influence of predecessors and suggest a reliance on personal imaginary to control the interpretation of narrated subjects. It draws on the concept of creepiness, adapting Liboiron’s anticolonial methodology to challenge the static nature of the stereotype found in narratives by Levison Wood, Rebecca Lowe, Nick Jubber and William Atkins; which are then compared with travelogues by Leon McCarron and Julian Sayarer. The thesis aims to highlight how McCarron and Sayarer transcend stereotypes by employing specificity as a method of standing-with Bedouin people and communities. By investigating the language, style, and narrative devices in the text, questioning authorial veracity, and introducing a discussion on the destabilising presence of ghostwriters, my argument concludes that there is a direct link between childhood dreams of the Orient, illusions of power, fictionalisation of Bedouin interlocutors, possessiveness, and finally creepiness. Broadly, this thesis uses textual evidence to highlight the persistent stereotyping of Bedouin in travel writing and aims to highlight narratives that indicate an approach to representation that builds good relations.

Date of Award	20 Jan 2026
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bristol
Supervisor	Madhu Krishnan (Supervisor) & Tara K Puri (Supervisor)