Get 3 audiobooks free with a 30-Day Free Trial Sign Up Free

Midnight in Cairo: The Divas of Egypt's Roaring 20s


Unabridged Audiobook

Listen Free Now
  • Listen free with a 30-day free trial
  • Choose 2 bonus VIP books
  • Enjoy 10,000 always free books
Ratings
Book
Narrator
Release Date
April 6, 2021
Duration
14 hours 19 minutes
Summary
A vibrant portrait of the talented and entrepreneurial women who defined an era in Cairo.



One of the world's most multicultural cities, twentieth-century Cairo was a magnet for the ambitious and talented. During the 1920s and '30s, a vibrant music, theater, film, and cabaret scene flourished, defining what it meant to be a 'modern' Egyptian. Women came to dominate the Egyptian entertainment industry—as stars of the stage and screen but also as impresarias, entrepreneurs, owners, and promoters of a new and strikingly modern entertainment industry.



Raphael Cormack unveils the rich histories of independent, enterprising women like vaudeville star Rose al-Youssef (who launched one of Cairo's most important newspapers); nightclub singer Mounira al-Mahdiyya (the first woman to lead an Egyptian theater company) and her great rival, Oum Kalthoum (still venerated for her soulful lyrics); and other fabulous female stars of the interwar period, a time marked by excess and unheard-of freedom of expression. Buffeted by crosswinds of colonialism and nationalism, conservatism and liberalism, 'religious' and 'secular' values, patriarchy and feminism, this new generation of celebrities offered a new vision for women in Egypt and throughout the Middle East.
Browse By Category
Midnight in Cairo: The Divas of Egypt's Roaring 20s

Midnight in Cairo: The Divas of Egypt's Roaring 20s

Author: Raphael Cormack
Read by: Christine Rendel
Listen Free Now Get any book plus
2 bonus VIP books
1 book added to cart
Subtotal
$24.99
View Cart