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Dreamers of the Day

Rex Burns, Special to the Rocky

Published April 3, 2008 at 3 p.m.

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* Nonfiction. By Mary Doria Russell. Random House, $25.95. Grade: B-

Book in a nutshell: In her historical novel set primarily in the Middle East during the Cairo Peace Conference of 1919, Russell focuses on the life of Agnes Shanklin. The 40-year-old schoolteacher, who had been constantly demeaned by her mother, recently deceased, uses her inheritance for an adventure to Egypt.

There she falls in with Winston Churchill, T.E. Lawrence, Gertrude Bell and other historical figures who are carving up the Middle East after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I.

Amid the maneuverings and plotting at the Peace Conference over regional influence and oil, Agnes finds love with a sophisticated and mysterious European.

The suave, caring lover uses their relationship and Agnes' friendship with Lawrence and Churchill to glean information about British plans for the conference.

The two story lines weave together as Agnes journeys through the Middle East attending the social gatherings of the European conferees.

Sample of prose: The narrative sketches the foundations of current Middle East conflicts by having Agnes witness the "nation-building" of the victorious European allies. She describes one of the historical photographs showing the movers and shakers posing near the Sphinx: "That photo became quite famous. There we all are: the people who invented the modern Middle East. . . . The Sphinx is nearby, the pyramids in the distance. You can see Clementine and Winston, Miss Bell, Colonel Lawrence, and Sergeant Thompson high on camelback, along with several officers in uniform."

Pros: Agnes is, for the most part, a believable narrator whose emerging self-reliance, common sense and sharp eye for character echo the fun of a Nancy Drew mystery.

Cons: The resolution introduces a deus ex machina that gives to the conclusion an inflated and preachy tone.

Final word: Russell's historical dramatizations - of cobbling together an Iraq without concern for its tribal regions, of ignoring Palestinian resentment at losing land for an Israeli state, of installing a pro- Western shah in Iran - are clear for non-scholars of the region to grasp.

Unfortunately, this simplification of history reduces the tragedy of imperialistic arrogance to mere irony.