From her youth, it was abundantly evident that Lady Hester Stanhope was likely to pursue a very different destiny from that of her contemporaries, but few could have guessed the bizarre journey she would be taking. As the daughter of the eccentric Earl Stanhope, she sported an unconventional manner even as she abandoned her family home to become a society hostess at the house of her uncle, William Pitt the Younger, the Prime Minister. Within this glittering social circle, she quickly became a star, pursued by many highborn admirers -- and a celibate lifestyle was not one that the rebellious Hester chose for herself. Her list of lovers was impressive, but she resisted the temptation to marry; she knew that there were other possibilities in her life that she must explore. When Pitt died, she found herself without a home, and decided to leave Britain. Setting out with a young lover (who later returned to Britain for family commitments), she travelled through the Mediterranean and beyond. It was in the Middle East that the seeds of her legend were sown. At this time, she became the most celebrated female traveller of her era, and was the first woman from England to traverse the Syrian desert, celebrated by the Bedouin as their 'Star of the Morning'. Establishing an impressive home in the mountains of Lebanon, she began to become a player in the tortuous politics of the region. But how was she, an Englishwoman, able to deal with the Middle Eastern rulers and politicians, not accustomed to taking women seriously? Hester, knowing that she was not cut out to wear the veil, began to dress in male clothing -- and even to bear arms. The effect of this remarkable woman on those around her was seismic, and she began to be regarded almost as a queen, inspiring feelings of awe. But Hester had always had a passionate belief in some of the obscure byways of the supernatural (she was obsessed with preparing herself for the second coming of Christ), and as her mental acuity began to wane, so did her influence. Soon, almost all she owned had fallen away from her, with only the doctor she had travelled to the Middle East with remaining as her confidant.

Kirsten Ellis's exuberantly written biography does full justice to her larger-than-life subject, celebrating this unlikely heroine who made her mark in both the male-dominated societies of Britain and the Middle East. Ellis has also discovered many startling new facts about Hester, including details of her relationships with adventurous figures of the day such as Sidney Smith and the revolutionary Latin general de Miranda (not to mention her dabbling in espionage -- another unlikely but fascinating aspect of her astonishing story). --Barry Forshaw