Bodley, Ronald Victor Courtney

Young years

Ronald Victor Courtney Bodley was born in Paris on March 3 ^[1] 1892 ^[2] , in the family of and Evelyn Bodley (nee Francis) ^[1] . Ronald was the eldest of three children: his brother Joslyn and sister Ava were born in 1893 and 1896, respectively ^[1] . He was a descendant of the diplomat and founder of the Bodlian Library at the Oxford University, Thomas Bodley ^{[3] [4]} , and also a cousin of the writer Gertrude Bell ^[3] . Ronald lived in France with his parents until he was nine years old ^[4] . His grandfather owned a Turkish-style palace in Algeria , which Bodley often visited as a child ^[5] .

Military Service

After studying at the Lyceum in Paris ^[6] , Ronald Bodley entered Eton College , and then the Royal Military College at Sandhurst , while studying in September 1911, he entered the second in the rank of second lieutenant ^{[ 3] [7]} . Bodley spent three years serving in India , where he began to write and stage plays. In this regard, his commander once remarked: “The plays are funny. You are the hope of a regiment and all that, but are you in the army to become a soldier or a comedian? ” The First World War ^[8] soon began, and Bodley was sent to the Western Front , where he served for four years ^[9] . He was wounded several times ^[5] , including injuries from chemical weapons ^[1] . On June 2, 1916 to the , Bodley was awarded the Military Cross ^{[10] [11]} . From October 24 to November 27, 1916 with the rank of lieutenant colonel, he commanded the Royal Rifle Corps ^[12] . In France, Bodley was temporarily promoted to ^3] , after which, on August 15, 1918 ^[13], he was promoted to assistant military attaché in Paris ^[3] .

As an assistant military attache, Bodley took part in the 1919 Paris Peace Conference . What he heard there made Bodley feel that he and millions of other soldiers were fighting for nothing ^[3] . Later he said that “selfish politicians laid the foundation for the Second World War — each country seized everything it could, creating national antagonisms and reviving secret intrigues” ^[14] . Disillusioned with military service, Bodley began his career in politics ^[3] , following the advice of David Lloyd George ^[5] .

At the same time, Gertrude Bell introduced Bodley to Thomas Edward Lawrence ^[3] . They met one day during the conference, and Bodley told Lawrence about his intention to go into politics. Lawrence reacted violently, calling Bodley a "moron" and "traitor." When Bodley noticed that he had no prospects, since the war was over, and asked what he should do, Lawrence suggested “living with the Arabs” ^[3] . Later, Bodley noted that the conversation with Lawrence, which lasted “less than 200 seconds,” turned out to be crucial ^[14] . Bodley quickly put his affairs in order, and before leaving for the Sahara he attended a farewell party in his honor. Friends were stunned by his intentions, but agreed that Bodley would return within six weeks, but he stayed in the Sahara for more than seven years ^[3] .

Traveling in Africa and Asia

Bodley spent seven years ^[16] in the Sahara desert , where he lived with a nomadic Bedouin tribe. He purchased a flock of sheep and goats, hired 10 shepherds to care for them, and using the farm as a means of income, after some time received 120% of their investments ^[5] . Bodley wore Arab clothing, spoke Arabic , lived as a Muslim — he prayed five times a day, read nothing but the Quran, and abstained from alcohol ^[5] , and after leaving the Sahara still did not drink ^[8] . In the end, Bodley left the tribe on the advice of his army commander, who told him that there was no point in continuing to pretend to be an Arab ^[5] . In 1927, based on his experience of living in Algeria, Bodley wrote the book Algeria From Within ^{[17] [18]} . The success of the book significantly exceeded the expectations of Bodley, prompting him to continue writing. ^[1] His first novel, Yasmina: A Story of Algeria , published the same year, sold well and was reprinted. However, his next novel, Opal Fire , released in 1928 of the year, was commercially unsuccessful, but this did not make Bodley stop writing ^[1] . He considered his stay in the Sahara as the “most peaceful and contented years” of his life ^[4] , being considered one of the most prominent English writers about the Sahara ^[19] and receiving the nickname “Bodley Arabian " ^[5] .

After the Sahara, Bodley spent three months in Java , on a tea plantation . Then he traveled to China and Japan ^[8] . Thanks to the success of his books, Bodley easily got a job as a journalist in Asia, becoming a correspondent for in London and in Australia ^[1] . He was one of several Westerners who in 1930 were granted access to the territory of the South Pacific Mandate , belonging to Japan ^[20] . Bodley became one of the main and cited sources of information about the area at that time ^[21] . Incidentally, in 1931, Bodley wrote his autobiography “ Indiscretions of a Young Man ” ^[22] , and in 1932, the book “ The Lilac Troll ” ^[23] . After visiting the region of the mandate, he reported that there was no evidence that Japan was conducting its militarization. In his 1934 book The Drama in the Pacific Bodley , Bodley, summarizing his experience and conclusions, stated that “having visited virtually every island ... I am convinced that none of them did anything to turn them into military -sea base " ^[21] . For these statements, Bodley was immediately criticized and accused of naivety, but later, journalist in his 1998 book, Nan'yo: 1885–1945 , noted that militarization The region was complex and went through several stages, and Bodley could simply have missed it ^[1] .

Then Bodley was offered a job as an English teacher at Keio University , he accepted it and stayed in Japan for nine months, writing about his life in the 1933 book A Japanese Omelette ^[1] . In April of the same year, Bodley was a passenger of the ship “ Shizuoka Maru ” who crashed on the reef north of Yap without casualties ^[24] . Bodley reflected his impressions of being in Asia in the 1934 book Indiscreet travels East (Java, China and Japan) . ^[25] In 1935, under the name Admiral Togo , he published a biography of Togo Kheyhatiro ^[8] .

Follow Life

In 1935, Bodley moved to the United States of America , where he worked as a screenwriter ^[8] . From October 1936 to February 1937, he worked with Charlie Chaplin ^[26] on adapting the novel “ Regency ” by D. L. Murray, which was the first time that Chaplin hired someone as a screenwriter, as he himself had previously written his scripts ^[26] . In January 1937, Bodley completed the draft ^[27] , however, Chaplin lost interest in the project and abandoned it ^[28] . Later, Bodley worked on a script for the 1938 film ^{[8] [29]} .

After the start of World War II, Bodley re-entered the Royal Rifle Corps, receiving the rank of , but was soon resigned with honor because of his age and services to the country, as well as allegedly because of the large number of young officers. After that, Bodley went to work at the and was sent to Paris ^[8] . He was there during the invasion of the German army in 1940, after which he was able to flee back to the United States through Portugal ^[5] . Upon his return, Bodley received US citizenship and an adviser to the Arabic edition of the ^[8] . In the same year, he, along with Lorna Hirst wrote a biographical book, Gertrude Bell ^[30] , and in 1941, Flight into Portugal ^[31] .

During his travels in the United States, Bodley often lectured ^[32] , speaking in almost all states ^[1] , and specifically in public places, including Bowden College ^[33] and ^[5] . In 1944, Bodley published a book, Wind in the Sahara ^[34], about his life in the Sahara ^[35] , which had survived seven editions by 1949 and was translated into eight languages ^[36] . In 1945, he wrote the novel “ The Gay Deserters ” ^[37] , inspired by his flight from the German army ^{[9] [38]} . In 1946, Bodley wrote the biography of the Prophet Muhammad - " The Messenger " ^[39] , and in 1947 - " The Quest " - about the years of life in Asia ^[40] . He also wrote an essay entitled “ I Lived in the Garden of Allah ”, which was featured in the 1948 book “ ” by Dale Carnegie ^[4] . In 1953, Bodley wrote a biography of Charles de Foucault , who spent years of his life among the Tuareg , The Warrior Saint ^[41] , which received a positive review in The New York Times ^[42] , and in 1955 a " In Search of Serenity ", which was also well received ^{[43] [44]} .

Little is known about the last years of Bodley's life ^[1] . His latest book, The Soundless Sahara , was published in 1968 ^[45] . At the same time, Bodley provided information for the book The Secret Lives of Lawrence of Arabia , published in 1969 ^[46] .

Ronald Victor Courtney died on May 26, 1970 at a nursing home ^[1] in in Surrey ^[47]

Bodley married to Ruth Stapleton-Breterton , April 22, 1918. On May 22 of the same year, in the suburb of Cambridge - , they had an only child - a son Mark Courtney Bodley ^{[1] [48]} . After some time, Ruth filed for divorce, citing adultery and excessive drinking by Bodley. He did not dispute the application, and the divorce took place on June 8, 1926 ^[1] , and in 1930, Ruth married Colonel George Freden Arthur Pygot-Moody ^{[48] [49]} . In 1927, Bodley entered into a second marriage with an Australian Beatrice Claire Lamb , whom he met while traveling in North Africa . She filed for divorce in 1939 ^[1] . On December 12, 1942, his son Mark Bodley, who had by this time become a lieutenant of the 2nd Dragoon Regiment of the Royal Armored Corps , was killed in battle in Libya ^[48] . He was buried at the Tripoli Military Cemetery ^[48] , and Bodley dedicated the book Wind in the Sahara to his memory ^[1] . In November 1949, Bodley married for the third time a divorced American woman. Harriet Mosley . Their marriage eventually ended in divorce and Mosley remarried in 1969 ^[1] .

In 1919, Bodley was awarded the title of Cavalier of the Order of the Legion of Honor from French President Raymond Poincare ^[50] , and in 1920 - Officer of the Order of the Black Star ^[51] . In the same year, he was granted the title of Officer of the Order of Carol I from the Ferdinand I ^[52] , and in 1921 - the from the President of the Republic of China Xu Shichang ^[53] .

During his career, Bodley has published 18 books ^[1] :

• Snell, William. RVC Bodley ("Bodley of Arabia") at Keio University, 1933 (Eng.) // The Hiyoshi review of English studies: journal. - Keio University , 2013. - No. 63 . - P. 17-49 .