December 2009 Archives
Dear Readers,
Tonight is New Year's Eve. King Abdullah's Tomb will be published by Cheops Books on February 1, 2010, only about one month from today. It is getting close to being one hundred years since the events in that memoir of mine took place during the Great War. Five more years until the one hundredth anniversary of the sinking of the Lusitania.
It will be published in hardcover and as an ebook on Amazon.com's Kindle. Look in the Kindle store.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
Tonight is New Year's Eve. King Abdullah's Tomb will be published by Cheops Books on February 1, 2010, only about one month from today. It is getting close to being one hundred years since the events in that memoir of mine took place during the Great War. Five more years until the one hundredth anniversary of the sinking of the Lusitania.
It will be published in hardcover and as an ebook on Amazon.com's Kindle. Look in the Kindle store.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
Dear Readers,
Suddenly one day Chuck the mailman came running up to me while I was pruning the roses. He had a letter from my English lord in his hands. I could not wait to read it --- or so I thought.
Edward was almost killed at this place he has gone to in the Dardanelles called Gallipoli. The Battle of Gallipoli was a disaster for the British. Edward was the only soldier left of the unit of one hundred that he started out with. He even says that he is going to receive the Victoria Cross, like all British soldiers who survived. Imagine, getting an award just for surviving!
This Great War is no fun anymore. I don't want it to drag on to Christma, 1915. At this rate I might never see Edward again!
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
P.S. To think I thought the Lusitania was bad!
Suddenly one day Chuck the mailman came running up to me while I was pruning the roses. He had a letter from my English lord in his hands. I could not wait to read it --- or so I thought.
Edward was almost killed at this place he has gone to in the Dardanelles called Gallipoli. The Battle of Gallipoli was a disaster for the British. Edward was the only soldier left of the unit of one hundred that he started out with. He even says that he is going to receive the Victoria Cross, like all British soldiers who survived. Imagine, getting an award just for surviving!
This Great War is no fun anymore. I don't want it to drag on to Christma, 1915. At this rate I might never see Edward again!
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
P.S. To think I thought the Lusitania was bad!
Dear Readers,
I must have planted fifty rose bushes this long summer of 1915. While I am waiting for that first letter from Edward I have to keep myself busy doing something. The rose garden is along the long gravel driveway. It's on the way to the mailbox at the street. I pass it twice every day, once on my way to the mailbox full of hope and once on the way back, disappointed and longing for tomorrow. I often linger there and see Edward's face in the rose blooms. I pluck a flower now and then and tear off all the petals, saying to myself, "He loves me, he loves me not, he loves me . . . "
It may sound whimsical for a Lusitania survivor, but what else am I going to say?
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
Dear Readers,
What happened? Edward promised to write me every day! It's been two months. It's August, 1915, two months after I said good-bye to him. So far I have received no letter. Has he forgotten about me? Has he found somebody else, perhaps a Greek girl he met at Gallipoli? When will I hear from him again if ever.
There is nothing to do here except take care of my parents' roses along the driveway. All I do all day is walk up and down the drive to the mailbox to look for letters from my fiance. I carry the rose pruners with me. My frustration makes these the most perfectly pruned roses ever. It's enough to make me wish I had gone down on the Lusitania.
Nothing is worth it without Edward!
SIncerely yours,
Dora Benley
What happened? Edward promised to write me every day! It's been two months. It's August, 1915, two months after I said good-bye to him. So far I have received no letter. Has he forgotten about me? Has he found somebody else, perhaps a Greek girl he met at Gallipoli? When will I hear from him again if ever.
There is nothing to do here except take care of my parents' roses along the driveway. All I do all day is walk up and down the drive to the mailbox to look for letters from my fiance. I carry the rose pruners with me. My frustration makes these the most perfectly pruned roses ever. It's enough to make me wish I had gone down on the Lusitania.
Nothing is worth it without Edward!
SIncerely yours,
Dora Benley
Dear Readers,
Not only did Mr. Byrne give me the cold shoulder on The Philadelphia coming back to New York, not only did he slam his cabin door in my face, he refused to talk to me after we disembarked. My parents stood there at the pier saying good-bye to him. I had to skulk in the shadows feeling guilty.
All the way home to Pittsburgh I hugged my Crusader engagement ring that Edward gave me. It was all I had in the whole wide world. But it was a lonely feeling. All these days while I had been traveling west, Edward had been traveling east. We were now farther apart than we had ever been, even before we knew each other.
I assumed that when I rushed through the door of my house in Bethel Borough a letter from Edward would await me. After all, hadn't he promised to write me every single day without fail? But when I got home, our cleaning lady, Viola, showed me the mail. There was nothing for me from my fiance.
What can I say? I left Pennsylvania on May 1. I've been traveling ever since. It's now the middle of June, about six weeks later. My life will never again be what it was before the Lusitania . . . and Edward.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
Not only did Mr. Byrne give me the cold shoulder on The Philadelphia coming back to New York, not only did he slam his cabin door in my face, he refused to talk to me after we disembarked. My parents stood there at the pier saying good-bye to him. I had to skulk in the shadows feeling guilty.
All the way home to Pittsburgh I hugged my Crusader engagement ring that Edward gave me. It was all I had in the whole wide world. But it was a lonely feeling. All these days while I had been traveling west, Edward had been traveling east. We were now farther apart than we had ever been, even before we knew each other.
I assumed that when I rushed through the door of my house in Bethel Borough a letter from Edward would await me. After all, hadn't he promised to write me every single day without fail? But when I got home, our cleaning lady, Viola, showed me the mail. There was nothing for me from my fiance.
What can I say? I left Pennsylvania on May 1. I've been traveling ever since. It's now the middle of June, about six weeks later. My life will never again be what it was before the Lusitania . . . and Edward.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
Dear Readers,
We were together on the Lusitania. Now we are together on The Philadelphia going back to New York from England. Mr. Byrne is not happy with me. He seems to be standoffish. He doesn't want to talk to me at meal times with my parents. He doesn't even want to dance with me. He is being as unfriendly as possible. It made me very sad at first, thinking how lonely I already was without Edward.
Then Mr. Byrne called me into his cabin and asked me how I really felt about him. Then he admitted to spying on me in London when Edward and I were meeting in the townhouse on the West End. I was shocked and appalled. He insisted I break off my engagement to Edward and marry him instead. When I refused, he threw me out of his cabin and slammed the door in my face.
What do I do with Michael? I wanted to keep him as my friend. But he will have none of it.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
We were together on the Lusitania. Now we are together on The Philadelphia going back to New York from England. Mr. Byrne is not happy with me. He seems to be standoffish. He doesn't want to talk to me at meal times with my parents. He doesn't even want to dance with me. He is being as unfriendly as possible. It made me very sad at first, thinking how lonely I already was without Edward.
Then Mr. Byrne called me into his cabin and asked me how I really felt about him. Then he admitted to spying on me in London when Edward and I were meeting in the townhouse on the West End. I was shocked and appalled. He insisted I break off my engagement to Edward and marry him instead. When I refused, he threw me out of his cabin and slammed the door in my face.
What do I do with Michael? I wanted to keep him as my friend. But he will have none of it.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
Dear Readers.
What will Edward buy me for Christmas? He has promised to write me every day. If he does so, he ought to compile all his letters in one volume and call them A Soldier's Letters To His Fiancee During The Great War. He ought to give it to me when we get married at Christmas, 1915. That would be a thoughtful gift. We could read them together by the fire and he could reminisce about everything he saw and everyone he met. I'm sure our son will want to know about his father's exploits someday. I just have an intuition about it. It could prove very important.
I certainly don't want to write a book about the sinking of the Lusitania.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
What will Edward buy me for Christmas? He has promised to write me every day. If he does so, he ought to compile all his letters in one volume and call them A Soldier's Letters To His Fiancee During The Great War. He ought to give it to me when we get married at Christmas, 1915. That would be a thoughtful gift. We could read them together by the fire and he could reminisce about everything he saw and everyone he met. I'm sure our son will want to know about his father's exploits someday. I just have an intuition about it. It could prove very important.
I certainly don't want to write a book about the sinking of the Lusitania.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
Dear Readers,
I would like to imagine my Christmas, 1915 wedding at the little church next to Hampton Court. Edward will be dressed in his lieutenant's uniform, I suppose, even though he won't be in the military anymore. I will be wearing a lacy wedding gown in the latest style bought at Kaufmann's in downtown Pittsburgh. My mother says we will go shopping as soon as we arrive home. There will be all sorts of lights and candles. Perhaps there will be snow. Edward never discussed a honeymoon. But England is enough of a honeymoon for me. Perhaps we will go into London to see plays and various entertainments. Best of all will be just being with Edward.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
P.S. The Lusitania was enough! Let the war end!
I would like to imagine my Christmas, 1915 wedding at the little church next to Hampton Court. Edward will be dressed in his lieutenant's uniform, I suppose, even though he won't be in the military anymore. I will be wearing a lacy wedding gown in the latest style bought at Kaufmann's in downtown Pittsburgh. My mother says we will go shopping as soon as we arrive home. There will be all sorts of lights and candles. Perhaps there will be snow. Edward never discussed a honeymoon. But England is enough of a honeymoon for me. Perhaps we will go into London to see plays and various entertainments. Best of all will be just being with Edward.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
P.S. The Lusitania was enough! Let the war end!
Dear Readers,
Am I cut out to be Lady Ware? No one I have ever known has had a title. It would seem rather odd, and it certainly does not seem very American. But when I marry Edward I will be in line to become the next Lady Ware when he becomes Sir Edward Ware. His mother will then become the Dowager Lady Ware.
Can I hostess parties and have everybody curtsying to me and calling me "milady"? It sounds like a fantasy and not reality. But when I think of Edward heading for the Dardanelles where real battles are going on right now, it does not seem like a fantasy at all. It seems all too real, just as the Lusitania seems all too real.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
Am I cut out to be Lady Ware? No one I have ever known has had a title. It would seem rather odd, and it certainly does not seem very American. But when I marry Edward I will be in line to become the next Lady Ware when he becomes Sir Edward Ware. His mother will then become the Dowager Lady Ware.
Can I hostess parties and have everybody curtsying to me and calling me "milady"? It sounds like a fantasy and not reality. But when I think of Edward heading for the Dardanelles where real battles are going on right now, it does not seem like a fantasy at all. It seems all too real, just as the Lusitania seems all too real.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
Dear Readers,
What should I buy my fiance for Christmas, 1915? By then he should be out of the army, so I shouldn't buy him a canteen or something only soldiers need. I know! He took a brand new folding camera with him. It had just come from Kodak in America. It even had interchangeable lenses. Maybe I should buy him camera equipment. Not that I know much about it. I will have to go to a camera shop and ask advice.
Edward has promised not only to write me every day from the Dardanelles but to take pictures as well. He will already have a collection by the time we meet again. Next he can start taking photos of me. So far he has only one that he took the day after we met after Queenstown and the Lusitania. We were sitting in the gardens at Ware Hall. He set the automatic timer and sat down next to me with his arm around my shoulders.
How I miss him!
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
What should I buy my fiance for Christmas, 1915? By then he should be out of the army, so I shouldn't buy him a canteen or something only soldiers need. I know! He took a brand new folding camera with him. It had just come from Kodak in America. It even had interchangeable lenses. Maybe I should buy him camera equipment. Not that I know much about it. I will have to go to a camera shop and ask advice.
Edward has promised not only to write me every day from the Dardanelles but to take pictures as well. He will already have a collection by the time we meet again. Next he can start taking photos of me. So far he has only one that he took the day after we met after Queenstown and the Lusitania. We were sitting in the gardens at Ware Hall. He set the automatic timer and sat down next to me with his arm around my shoulders.
How I miss him!
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
Dear Readers,
What will I do if Edward makes a career of the military? He says he is enlisting just for a few months in the Dardanelles. The war is supposed to be over, and we are to get married at Christmas, 1915. But he seemed awfully interested in boarding his troop transport and meeting this mysterious man called T. E. Lawrence. Sometimes I think he's more interested in matters like that than he is in me.
I might be able to put up with it for a few months. But to have it go on and on forever . . . I could not stand it, readers. I would have to be by myself a lot. Instead I like to be with Edward. I would never know what he was really up to. How could I deal with that? He would always be going off to this war or that. He would be stationed here or there. And where would I be?
I don't think Edward has given this enough thought.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
P.S. Imagine having to think about this just weeks off the Lusitania!
What will I do if Edward makes a career of the military? He says he is enlisting just for a few months in the Dardanelles. The war is supposed to be over, and we are to get married at Christmas, 1915. But he seemed awfully interested in boarding his troop transport and meeting this mysterious man called T. E. Lawrence. Sometimes I think he's more interested in matters like that than he is in me.
I might be able to put up with it for a few months. But to have it go on and on forever . . . I could not stand it, readers. I would have to be by myself a lot. Instead I like to be with Edward. I would never know what he was really up to. How could I deal with that? He would always be going off to this war or that. He would be stationed here or there. And where would I be?
I don't think Edward has given this enough thought.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
P.S. Imagine having to think about this just weeks off the Lusitania!
Dear Readers,
What is Edward like? I am often asked that question aboard The Philadelphia, especially after I tell the person he is an English lord. First of all, as I mentioned before he is tall and handsome with wicked green eyes and flaming red hair with freckles. But he has a personality to match all that flair.
He is raunchy and a tease. He is always coming after me and trying to seduce in a thousand different ways. Sometimes I wonder whether he is serious at all. But I have glimpsed him when he is talking to his father about the Dardanelles. He looks quite attentive when his father tells him about it. He seems to want to learn all he can. And oddly enough, though he does not come from a military family, he seems quite dedicated to the idea of being a soldier.
SIncerely yours,
Dora Benley
P.S. I wish he could have sailed with us on the Lusitania. I don't think Ali would have dared to sink the ship!
What is Edward like? I am often asked that question aboard The Philadelphia, especially after I tell the person he is an English lord. First of all, as I mentioned before he is tall and handsome with wicked green eyes and flaming red hair with freckles. But he has a personality to match all that flair.
He is raunchy and a tease. He is always coming after me and trying to seduce in a thousand different ways. Sometimes I wonder whether he is serious at all. But I have glimpsed him when he is talking to his father about the Dardanelles. He looks quite attentive when his father tells him about it. He seems to want to learn all he can. And oddly enough, though he does not come from a military family, he seems quite dedicated to the idea of being a soldier.
SIncerely yours,
Dora Benley
P.S. I wish he could have sailed with us on the Lusitania. I don't think Ali would have dared to sink the ship!
Dear Readers,
I do worry that Edward will turn out like his father. He says his father loves his mother and respects her, too. But somehow it is all right for him to keep a mistress in a townhouse in London. Edward says his father's mistress is in the city. His mother is in the country. They never meet. Would he do this to me, readers?
His father brought a mistress back from his excavations at Carchemish in 1913. Would Edward bring one back from the Dardanelles or wherever else he is going?
They always say like father, like son. Edward reminds me more of his mother than his father, but still he is a man. How far can you trust him?
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
P.S. Now that I have survived the Lusitania, I wonder if I will ever fully trust anyone again. To think what people are capable of! Things are definitely not as nice as they were before the Great War.
I do worry that Edward will turn out like his father. He says his father loves his mother and respects her, too. But somehow it is all right for him to keep a mistress in a townhouse in London. Edward says his father's mistress is in the city. His mother is in the country. They never meet. Would he do this to me, readers?
His father brought a mistress back from his excavations at Carchemish in 1913. Would Edward bring one back from the Dardanelles or wherever else he is going?
They always say like father, like son. Edward reminds me more of his mother than his father, but still he is a man. How far can you trust him?
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
P.S. Now that I have survived the Lusitania, I wonder if I will ever fully trust anyone again. To think what people are capable of! Things are definitely not as nice as they were before the Great War.
Dear Readers,
Edward is good at thinking up things to do. He would not be bored by a long sea voyage the way the rest of us are. And I don't exactly see him lounging around reading a book on deck with a blanket thrown over his legs and a cup of cocoa in his hand. If he were here he would be marching me around the deck, perhaps all the decks. We would be sightseeing off the port and the bow, perhaps with binoculars. We would meet important, distinguished people at dinner. Edward would know all of them.
But most importantly we would tryst in his cabin every afternoon the way we did in London. My parents would not know where we were. The other passengers would not be able to find us either. We would be all alone and quite busy.
Yes, Edward is a man of action.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
P.S. These are idle thoughts just weeks off the Lusitania.
Edward is good at thinking up things to do. He would not be bored by a long sea voyage the way the rest of us are. And I don't exactly see him lounging around reading a book on deck with a blanket thrown over his legs and a cup of cocoa in his hand. If he were here he would be marching me around the deck, perhaps all the decks. We would be sightseeing off the port and the bow, perhaps with binoculars. We would meet important, distinguished people at dinner. Edward would know all of them.
But most importantly we would tryst in his cabin every afternoon the way we did in London. My parents would not know where we were. The other passengers would not be able to find us either. We would be all alone and quite busy.
Yes, Edward is a man of action.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
P.S. These are idle thoughts just weeks off the Lusitania.
Dear Readers,
Have you seen Edward with another girl? You say you don't know what he looks like? He's six feet tall with curly red hair, freckles and bright green eyes. He's got quite a build with big shoulders tapering to his waist and long legs. He's twenty-two years old. If you see a man who meets that description and he's handsome, it's probably my fiance.
I'm not sure whether I can trust him. After all, he was quite artful and persistent about seducing me. I wonder where he got all the practice. It's hard to believe I was the first. And what a young man has done once, he will probably do again. All he needs is an opportunity.
I don't like him being off in the army in the Dardanelles. I would rather have Edward where I can watch him. It doesn't matter whether it's at Ware House or back in Pittsburgh where I grew up. I just need him near me, especially after the Lusitania which has shaken my confidence somewhat.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
Have you seen Edward with another girl? You say you don't know what he looks like? He's six feet tall with curly red hair, freckles and bright green eyes. He's got quite a build with big shoulders tapering to his waist and long legs. He's twenty-two years old. If you see a man who meets that description and he's handsome, it's probably my fiance.
I'm not sure whether I can trust him. After all, he was quite artful and persistent about seducing me. I wonder where he got all the practice. It's hard to believe I was the first. And what a young man has done once, he will probably do again. All he needs is an opportunity.
I don't like him being off in the army in the Dardanelles. I would rather have Edward where I can watch him. It doesn't matter whether it's at Ware House or back in Pittsburgh where I grew up. I just need him near me, especially after the Lusitania which has shaken my confidence somewhat.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
Dear Readers,
If Edward balks at coming back to marry me at Christmas or gets engaged to someone else, I can always try to make him jealous. After all, Mr. Byrne has a crush on me. I could pretend I was dating him. That ought to get Edward angry. He is the possessive type.
On the ship on the way back to America in June, 1915, Mr. Byrne took me to his cabin and asked me how I felt about him. I told him the truth. I thought he was a friend, but I don't feel about him the way I feel about Edward. But Edward doesn't have to know that. I could tell him that Mr. Byrne has proposed and I have accepted. Edward is thousands of miles away in Gallipoli. Mr. Byrne is on the same ship.
Edward will think twice about jilting me. We Lusitania survivors don't give up.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
If Edward balks at coming back to marry me at Christmas or gets engaged to someone else, I can always try to make him jealous. After all, Mr. Byrne has a crush on me. I could pretend I was dating him. That ought to get Edward angry. He is the possessive type.
On the ship on the way back to America in June, 1915, Mr. Byrne took me to his cabin and asked me how I felt about him. I told him the truth. I thought he was a friend, but I don't feel about him the way I feel about Edward. But Edward doesn't have to know that. I could tell him that Mr. Byrne has proposed and I have accepted. Edward is thousands of miles away in Gallipoli. Mr. Byrne is on the same ship.
Edward will think twice about jilting me. We Lusitania survivors don't give up.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
Dear Readers,
I don't know how Edward would meet any other girls in the military, but I worry about it just the same. What if his regiment stops in a town and the local girls come out to greet the soldiers? What if they have a party? I won't be there and somebody else will.
I worry especially because Edward's father clearly had a mistress. I saw her through the window when I went to find Mr. Byrne. She lived in a townhouse in London before she got murdered. And what was more, readers, she was an Arab woman!
What if Edward meets somebody else and thinks he can have a mistress, too, at the same time he is engaged to me? I don't think I could stand it.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
P.S. It's awful to have to worry like this just weeks off the Lusitania!
I don't know how Edward would meet any other girls in the military, but I worry about it just the same. What if his regiment stops in a town and the local girls come out to greet the soldiers? What if they have a party? I won't be there and somebody else will.
I worry especially because Edward's father clearly had a mistress. I saw her through the window when I went to find Mr. Byrne. She lived in a townhouse in London before she got murdered. And what was more, readers, she was an Arab woman!
What if Edward meets somebody else and thinks he can have a mistress, too, at the same time he is engaged to me? I don't think I could stand it.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
P.S. It's awful to have to worry like this just weeks off the Lusitania!
Dear Readers,
I almost boarded the troop transport going to Gallipoli with Edward. Only a soldier coming the other way parted us. I stood on the dock waving at him until I could not see him anymore. Then Michael Byrne dragged me aboard The Philadelphia bound in the opposite direction to New York. Never have I felt so sad in my life, clinging to Edward at the dock until the last, kissing him as if my life depended upon it. Now I am confined in my cabin aboard the ship, the first I have been on since the Lusitania. All I can do is think about Edward and weep.
When will I see him again? He says that he will come for me at Christmas when the war is bound to be over. But how can I wait that long? Already I wonder how I am going to endure my very first night without him in weeks.
Will he miss me as much as I miss him?
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
I almost boarded the troop transport going to Gallipoli with Edward. Only a soldier coming the other way parted us. I stood on the dock waving at him until I could not see him anymore. Then Michael Byrne dragged me aboard The Philadelphia bound in the opposite direction to New York. Never have I felt so sad in my life, clinging to Edward at the dock until the last, kissing him as if my life depended upon it. Now I am confined in my cabin aboard the ship, the first I have been on since the Lusitania. All I can do is think about Edward and weep.
When will I see him again? He says that he will come for me at Christmas when the war is bound to be over. But how can I wait that long? Already I wonder how I am going to endure my very first night without him in weeks.
Will he miss me as much as I miss him?
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
Dear Readers,
Tomorrow I have to leave England. My parents and Mr. Byrne have bought tickets on the Philadephia. All the larger liners like the Mauretania, sister ship to the Lusitania, have been requisitioned for the war effort. We are supposed to leave right after Edward boards his troop transport for the Dardanelles. We are not to meet again until Christmas when Edward sails to Pittsburgh and then sails back to England with me for the wedding.
How can I wait until Christmas, 1915? I've been spending almost every hour of every day with him for the past three weeks. It now seems like another lifetime when I didn't know him.
We are packing our trunks. I realize that I don't even have a photo of Edward to keep me company!
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
Tomorrow I have to leave England. My parents and Mr. Byrne have bought tickets on the Philadephia. All the larger liners like the Mauretania, sister ship to the Lusitania, have been requisitioned for the war effort. We are supposed to leave right after Edward boards his troop transport for the Dardanelles. We are not to meet again until Christmas when Edward sails to Pittsburgh and then sails back to England with me for the wedding.
How can I wait until Christmas, 1915? I've been spending almost every hour of every day with him for the past three weeks. It now seems like another lifetime when I didn't know him.
We are packing our trunks. I realize that I don't even have a photo of Edward to keep me company!
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
Dear Readers,
This first volume of my memoirs that is going to be published by Cheops Books on February 1, appears in the recent IBPA mailing to newspaper reviewers. It says:
Lieutenant Edward Ware flees through the streets of Petra pursued by an unseen saboteur. He takes refuge in a rose red temple built in Roman times in the Syrian Desert. The infamous Lawrence of Arabia and his band of Bedouins are his only chance to escape this trap alive. Someone shoots at him. He races into another ruined structure. He trips and plunges into a tomb where King Abdullah has lain for over one thousand years. Why does the saboteur want Edward dead? Edward must discover the secret of the tomb to avoid meeting King Abdullah's fate.
See what I have in store for you, readers, later in my story? If you want to know how I get from the Lusitania to the deserts of Syria and Arabia, read on! It's all part of the Great War.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
This first volume of my memoirs that is going to be published by Cheops Books on February 1, appears in the recent IBPA mailing to newspaper reviewers. It says:
Lieutenant Edward Ware flees through the streets of Petra pursued by an unseen saboteur. He takes refuge in a rose red temple built in Roman times in the Syrian Desert. The infamous Lawrence of Arabia and his band of Bedouins are his only chance to escape this trap alive. Someone shoots at him. He races into another ruined structure. He trips and plunges into a tomb where King Abdullah has lain for over one thousand years. Why does the saboteur want Edward dead? Edward must discover the secret of the tomb to avoid meeting King Abdullah's fate.
See what I have in store for you, readers, later in my story? If you want to know how I get from the Lusitania to the deserts of Syria and Arabia, read on! It's all part of the Great War.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
Dear Readers,
I am going to tell you things that well-bred young ladies don't tell those they don't know. But since most of my acquaintance with Edward has been in bed so far, what I like best about him is his lovemaking. I have never thought of myself as particularly desirable or pretty before. He makes me feel like both. Ever since the torpedoing of the Lusitania, I have felt rather down. He makes me feel cheerful again as if I have something to look forward to every day. I see myself in his eyes, and I am not all washed up. I am Dora, the desirable woman.
Also he keeps me on my toes. Without him I might tend to sit around, read a book, and act lazy. With him around, I have purpose and something to do. He is always in motion. Either we are going to London or we are taking walks around his estate, or I am meeting new and interesting people.
In short, I haven't known Edward Ware very long. But without him in my life I think I would be hopelessly lost.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
I am going to tell you things that well-bred young ladies don't tell those they don't know. But since most of my acquaintance with Edward has been in bed so far, what I like best about him is his lovemaking. I have never thought of myself as particularly desirable or pretty before. He makes me feel like both. Ever since the torpedoing of the Lusitania, I have felt rather down. He makes me feel cheerful again as if I have something to look forward to every day. I see myself in his eyes, and I am not all washed up. I am Dora, the desirable woman.
Also he keeps me on my toes. Without him I might tend to sit around, read a book, and act lazy. With him around, I have purpose and something to do. He is always in motion. Either we are going to London or we are taking walks around his estate, or I am meeting new and interesting people.
In short, I haven't known Edward Ware very long. But without him in my life I think I would be hopelessly lost.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
Dear Readers,
I didn't tell you exactly what happened between Edward and me in London just days after the Lusitania, but I assume you can guess. Does that make me a fallen woman? Edward and I are engaged, but what if something should happen to him in the war? I am not yet married to him, so I can't be widowed. But I am no longer a virgin just the same.
I've thought long and hard about this issue. I decided it sounds ludicrous. You know why? My father is one of the wealthiest men in America. How can I be a fallen woman? I don't think anybody else would think me a fallen woman either. They might say I was taken advantage of or seduced, they might pity me, but they would not shun me because of it.
I am the sole heiress to Benley Tire and Rubber. Have you ever heard of an heiress referred to as a fallen woman?
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
I didn't tell you exactly what happened between Edward and me in London just days after the Lusitania, but I assume you can guess. Does that make me a fallen woman? Edward and I are engaged, but what if something should happen to him in the war? I am not yet married to him, so I can't be widowed. But I am no longer a virgin just the same.
I've thought long and hard about this issue. I decided it sounds ludicrous. You know why? My father is one of the wealthiest men in America. How can I be a fallen woman? I don't think anybody else would think me a fallen woman either. They might say I was taken advantage of or seduced, they might pity me, but they would not shun me because of it.
I am the sole heiress to Benley Tire and Rubber. Have you ever heard of an heiress referred to as a fallen woman?
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
Dear Readers,
My father doesn't like Edward. He thinks he's a snobby British aristocrat. And my father likes only Americans. He wants me to live next door to him in Pittsburgh and not on a country estate outside London. Also he would prefer me to marry a businessman like he is. And though Edward's father is a businessman, Winthrop Benley does not like the way Edward is enlisting to fight in the war. He thinks that Edward is foolish. It is not a picnic, and lots of soldiers are getting killed. My father thinks it's a waste. Edward, of course, doesn't agree.
You know what I think, readers? I think my father and Edward are too much alike for them to get along. They are not interested in the same things. But Edward is just as headstrong and domineering as my father is. Edward insists that I do what he wants the way my father insists that my mother obey him. My father is always orating and exclaiming about something, and so is Edward. Ultimately, my father wants to control me, and so does Edward.
Don't you think it's amusing? And all this is occurring just days off the Lusitania.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
My father doesn't like Edward. He thinks he's a snobby British aristocrat. And my father likes only Americans. He wants me to live next door to him in Pittsburgh and not on a country estate outside London. Also he would prefer me to marry a businessman like he is. And though Edward's father is a businessman, Winthrop Benley does not like the way Edward is enlisting to fight in the war. He thinks that Edward is foolish. It is not a picnic, and lots of soldiers are getting killed. My father thinks it's a waste. Edward, of course, doesn't agree.
You know what I think, readers? I think my father and Edward are too much alike for them to get along. They are not interested in the same things. But Edward is just as headstrong and domineering as my father is. Edward insists that I do what he wants the way my father insists that my mother obey him. My father is always orating and exclaiming about something, and so is Edward. Ultimately, my father wants to control me, and so does Edward.
Don't you think it's amusing? And all this is occurring just days off the Lusitania.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
Dear Readers,
Edward asked me to marry him today. We have set a date for Christmas, 1915. The war will be over by then, Edward assures me. He will leave the Dardanelles and sail to Pittsburgh to meet us. Then we will all sail back to Britain together to be married at the little church next to Hampton Court. It should be such fun! My mother says we will have to pick out a wedding dress at Kaufmanns as soon as we get back to the United States.
It will be such fun living at an English country estate with Edward and the Wares. It won't be like Pittsburgh at all. My father does not like the idea. More about that tomorrow.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley, soon to be Dora Ware
P.S. Can you imagine all this right after the Lusitania?
Edward asked me to marry him today. We have set a date for Christmas, 1915. The war will be over by then, Edward assures me. He will leave the Dardanelles and sail to Pittsburgh to meet us. Then we will all sail back to Britain together to be married at the little church next to Hampton Court. It should be such fun! My mother says we will have to pick out a wedding dress at Kaufmanns as soon as we get back to the United States.
It will be such fun living at an English country estate with Edward and the Wares. It won't be like Pittsburgh at all. My father does not like the idea. More about that tomorrow.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley, soon to be Dora Ware
P.S. Can you imagine all this right after the Lusitania?
Dear Readers,
Last night when I last wrote you now seems like another lifetime so much has changed. I did as I said. I stole Edward's car keys and drove to the West End. But I could not find Mr. Byrne's rented townhouse. Instead I chanced upon a townhouse where Edward's father, Sir Adolphus, was keeping an Arab woman! I saw them through the window.
Right after that I ran into Edward. He told me the woman's name is Asalah. His father keeps her as a mistress in London. He brought her back from his dig at Carchemish two seasons ago. I was rather huffy about it and said his father could not have much respect for his mother. He said he did. He kept his mother in the country and his mistress in the city, but it would be better to just fall in love to begin with. With that statement he kissed me.
Reader, it would not be proper to relate everything that happened next. But I suppose it was in the stars from the day we met right after the torpedo hit the Lusitania. He proposed to me, and now we are engaged.
See! I told you everything had changed!
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
Last night when I last wrote you now seems like another lifetime so much has changed. I did as I said. I stole Edward's car keys and drove to the West End. But I could not find Mr. Byrne's rented townhouse. Instead I chanced upon a townhouse where Edward's father, Sir Adolphus, was keeping an Arab woman! I saw them through the window.
Right after that I ran into Edward. He told me the woman's name is Asalah. His father keeps her as a mistress in London. He brought her back from his dig at Carchemish two seasons ago. I was rather huffy about it and said his father could not have much respect for his mother. He said he did. He kept his mother in the country and his mistress in the city, but it would be better to just fall in love to begin with. With that statement he kissed me.
Reader, it would not be proper to relate everything that happened next. But I suppose it was in the stars from the day we met right after the torpedo hit the Lusitania. He proposed to me, and now we are engaged.
See! I told you everything had changed!
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
Dear Readers,
I told you last night about my problem with Edward Ware. Not only did I have to throw him out of my bedroom, now I have to evade him on our upcoming trip to London as well. My mother and Lady Ware are going shopping at Harrods Department Store. My mother lost all her packages that she bought at Macy's in New York before we sailed when the Lusitania was torpedoed. She cannot wait to replace them with something else more expensive.
I talked to Michael on the phone yesterday. He claims to have seen the saboteur in London, the one that Edward calls Ali. Edward says the man has worked for his family as a gardener. His father brought back with him from Carchemish after the last season's work. Michael and I want to meet at his rented townhouse to talk about the matter in secret.
This is what I plan to do. I am going to pretend to go along with Edward. But when we are at Harrods, I will pick his pocket and borrow his Speedster car. I will drive myself to Notting Hill in the West End, which is where Mr. Byrne is staying. Tomorrow I will let you know what happens with my little adventure into London.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
I told you last night about my problem with Edward Ware. Not only did I have to throw him out of my bedroom, now I have to evade him on our upcoming trip to London as well. My mother and Lady Ware are going shopping at Harrods Department Store. My mother lost all her packages that she bought at Macy's in New York before we sailed when the Lusitania was torpedoed. She cannot wait to replace them with something else more expensive.
I talked to Michael on the phone yesterday. He claims to have seen the saboteur in London, the one that Edward calls Ali. Edward says the man has worked for his family as a gardener. His father brought back with him from Carchemish after the last season's work. Michael and I want to meet at his rented townhouse to talk about the matter in secret.
This is what I plan to do. I am going to pretend to go along with Edward. But when we are at Harrods, I will pick his pocket and borrow his Speedster car. I will drive myself to Notting Hill in the West End, which is where Mr. Byrne is staying. Tomorrow I will let you know what happens with my little adventure into London.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
Dear Readers,
I never expected it so soon off the Lusitania, but Edward Ware keeps giving me the eye. He takes advantage of every opportunity to get his arms around me and help me either into a car or into a chair. He sits beside me all the time. No matter if I look at him or not, he presses his leg up against me. When I tell him to mind his manners, he tells me he has to get his thrills now because he is about to ship off to the Dardanelles.
I complained about my bedroom being ransacked today. He told me it was the servant girls at Ware Hall. They are hard up. Their men are in the trenches. They steal to supplement their income. But he did not miss an opportunity to flirt with me. He said that since my bedroom was not fit to sleep it, why didn't I make use of his? Then he tried to kiss me, and believe it or not he was actually successful! He had me blushing to the roots of my hair. But I pushed his out of my room and slammed the door anyway, though I cannot get thoughts of him out of my head.
This will never do. What is all this leading to?
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
I never expected it so soon off the Lusitania, but Edward Ware keeps giving me the eye. He takes advantage of every opportunity to get his arms around me and help me either into a car or into a chair. He sits beside me all the time. No matter if I look at him or not, he presses his leg up against me. When I tell him to mind his manners, he tells me he has to get his thrills now because he is about to ship off to the Dardanelles.
I complained about my bedroom being ransacked today. He told me it was the servant girls at Ware Hall. They are hard up. Their men are in the trenches. They steal to supplement their income. But he did not miss an opportunity to flirt with me. He said that since my bedroom was not fit to sleep it, why didn't I make use of his? Then he tried to kiss me, and believe it or not he was actually successful! He had me blushing to the roots of my hair. But I pushed his out of my room and slammed the door anyway, though I cannot get thoughts of him out of my head.
This will never do. What is all this leading to?
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
Dear Readers,
So much has happened since the last time I wrote to you I don't know where to start. I escaped from the cabin where I was imprisoned on the Boat Deck of the Lusitania with the aid of Mr. Byrne. But no sooner did I escape than Mr. Byrne dragged me down to the engine room to find the saboteur. We were tied to a post in the engine room until the next morning. When I woke up the bomb that the saboteur had tied to the post was ready to blow. We barely untied ourselves in time. Then a torpedo struck the Lusitania. She sank in only eighteen minutes. My father managed to row us to shore. We ended up spending the night in Queenstown, Ireland.
No sooner was it light and I opened my eyes than a redhaired, green-eyed young man not much older than I was stood over my bed taking a photo of me. He assured me that his name was Edward Ware, son of Sir Adolphus Ware, and he was here to drive my family back to Ware Hall to meet his parents. I was so surprised I could hardly speak. And do you know what this young man did, readers? He sat down on the edge of my bed and ate my breakfast! I had not touched it, and he was hungry. He seems like the kind of young man who is fresh and takes too many liberties.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
So much has happened since the last time I wrote to you I don't know where to start. I escaped from the cabin where I was imprisoned on the Boat Deck of the Lusitania with the aid of Mr. Byrne. But no sooner did I escape than Mr. Byrne dragged me down to the engine room to find the saboteur. We were tied to a post in the engine room until the next morning. When I woke up the bomb that the saboteur had tied to the post was ready to blow. We barely untied ourselves in time. Then a torpedo struck the Lusitania. She sank in only eighteen minutes. My father managed to row us to shore. We ended up spending the night in Queenstown, Ireland.
No sooner was it light and I opened my eyes than a redhaired, green-eyed young man not much older than I was stood over my bed taking a photo of me. He assured me that his name was Edward Ware, son of Sir Adolphus Ware, and he was here to drive my family back to Ware Hall to meet his parents. I was so surprised I could hardly speak. And do you know what this young man did, readers? He sat down on the edge of my bed and ate my breakfast! I had not touched it, and he was hungry. He seems like the kind of young man who is fresh and takes too many liberties.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
Dear Readers,
That man in the wide-brimmed hat has finally done it. He surprised me when I came back into my cabin and opened my wardrobe. He leaped out at me and took me hostage. He's been dragging me from cabin to cabin on the Boat Deck ever since and stashing me away tied hand and foot. I can get loose, but I cannot escape from any of these cabin. The saboteur has the key. When I get on the cabin phone and attempt to call the steward or stewardess, I have no luck. Nor can I contact Robert. The kidnapper has managed to cut all the phone lines!
Mr. Byrne has no idea where I am, I can see my mother and father going past my room on the Boat Deck outside my porthole, I knock and scream but they don't see me or hear me.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
P.S. Maybe you can call Robert for me. The Lusitania is supposed to land in Liverpool on May 7. I hope I get out by then.
That man in the wide-brimmed hat has finally done it. He surprised me when I came back into my cabin and opened my wardrobe. He leaped out at me and took me hostage. He's been dragging me from cabin to cabin on the Boat Deck ever since and stashing me away tied hand and foot. I can get loose, but I cannot escape from any of these cabin. The saboteur has the key. When I get on the cabin phone and attempt to call the steward or stewardess, I have no luck. Nor can I contact Robert. The kidnapper has managed to cut all the phone lines!
Mr. Byrne has no idea where I am, I can see my mother and father going past my room on the Boat Deck outside my porthole, I knock and scream but they don't see me or hear me.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
P.S. Maybe you can call Robert for me. The Lusitania is supposed to land in Liverpool on May 7. I hope I get out by then.
Dear Readers,
I think Robert would have made a delightful sailing companion aboard the Lusitania back in 1915, don't you? He would have fit in perfectly with the company on the Boat Deck. I could picture him chatting with Mr. Klein about his Broadway plays right now. Just think! Then I wouldn't have to chat so much with Mr. Klein myself if Robert could do it for me. And Michael . . . Robert could have entered into his alarms about the saboteur aboard the ship, He could have helped him to figure it out. Then maybe Mr. Byrne would not have become infatuated with me and caused so many problems in the later volumes of my memoirs.
Alas! Robert, why didn't I know you back in 1915 when I needed you? I guess you weren't born soon enough.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
I think Robert would have made a delightful sailing companion aboard the Lusitania back in 1915, don't you? He would have fit in perfectly with the company on the Boat Deck. I could picture him chatting with Mr. Klein about his Broadway plays right now. Just think! Then I wouldn't have to chat so much with Mr. Klein myself if Robert could do it for me. And Michael . . . Robert could have entered into his alarms about the saboteur aboard the ship, He could have helped him to figure it out. Then maybe Mr. Byrne would not have become infatuated with me and caused so many problems in the later volumes of my memoirs.
Alas! Robert, why didn't I know you back in 1915 when I needed you? I guess you weren't born soon enough.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
Dear Readers,
Robert is such a dear! You see, he is helping me with my memoirs. He and his secretary/receptionist read my manuscript. Now they are telling me where it needs something added and something subtracted. Here it requires more explanation. Here is requires less. And how did Leopold escape from Germany? You didn't say. And why do I carry a Walther PPK in my pocket at all times? How do I know T. E. Lawrence? These are all very important questions for you, my readers, and they relate to Captive At The Berghof, which is part III.
I am so busy with my memoir revisions that I have less time for you, readers.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
Robert is such a dear! You see, he is helping me with my memoirs. He and his secretary/receptionist read my manuscript. Now they are telling me where it needs something added and something subtracted. Here it requires more explanation. Here is requires less. And how did Leopold escape from Germany? You didn't say. And why do I carry a Walther PPK in my pocket at all times? How do I know T. E. Lawrence? These are all very important questions for you, my readers, and they relate to Captive At The Berghof, which is part III.
I am so busy with my memoir revisions that I have less time for you, readers.
Sincerely yours,
Dora Benley
