Lawrence of Arabia's Clouds Hill

When T.E. Lawrence joined the Royal Tank Corps at Bovington in Dorset in spring 1923, he was a disillusioned and damaged individual and anxious to discard his previous persona of 'Lawrence of Arabia.' By chance he came across a former woodman's cottage, then in disrepair, and set about making it a home. At first he regarded 'Clouds Hill' merely as a pied-a-terre, but subsequently described it as 'an earthly paradise'. Andrew Norman explores the personality of this endlessly fascinating figure - a giant of history yet a significantly flawed man - and the impact that this peaceful corner of England had on his unquiet soul."