In the Anglo-Arab Labyrinth

The McMahon-Husayn correspondence has been at the heart of Anglo-Arab relations since World War I. It aroused great controversy, particularly over Palestine. Here, it is examined in historical context to determine why it was so obscure and what lay in the minds of those who drafted it. Part 1 The quicksand: Cairo, London and the Sharif of Mecca; Kitchener, Grey and the Arab Question; mysteries of the McMahon-Husayn correspondence. Part 2 The flay in the fly-bottle: Husayn interprets McMahon's promises, 1916-17; Sykes, Picot and Husayn; Wingate, Hogarth and Husayn; varieties of official historiography I - the Arab Bureau, Nicholson, Toynbee; the correspondence in the peace-settlement - Faysal and Young; varieties of official historiography II - the Colonial Office, McMahon, Childs; the Foreign Office wrestles with the correspondence - Baggallay's hour. Epilogue: knowledge, power and guilt. Appendix: in the Anglo-Arab labyrinth - genesis of a history.