Midnight in Cairo

"A vibrant portrait of the talented and entrepreneurial women who defined an era in Cairo. One of the world's greatest twentieth-century cosmopolitan cities, Cairo was a magnet for the ambitious and talented. During the 1920s and 30s, a vibrant music, theater, film, and cabaret scene flourished there, defining what it meant to be a "modern" Egyptian. Women came to dominate that scene-as stars but also as impresarias, entrepreneurs, owners, and promoters of the entertainment industry. Raphael Cormack unveils the rich histories of independent 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); her great rival, Umm Kalthoum (still venerated for her soulful lyrics); and other fabulous female stars. Buffeted by crosswinds of colonialism and nationalism, conservatism and liberalism, "religious" and "secular" values, patriarchy and feminism, this new generation of celebrity opened new horizons of possibility for women in Egypt and throughout the Middle East"--.