“This book is firmly in the postcolonial mode, and on a topic that is both timely and important. As Egypt and other countries in the Middle East begin a political journey that takes them further and further out of the control of Western political institutions, it is essential to have nuanced studies that allow us to begin to understand how we (as Western writers and thinkers) have created comfortable spaces for certain non-western elites while excluding others.” Susan Stephens, Standford University “An excellent exercise in rigorous comparative literature scholarship.” Roger Allen, University of Pennsylvania “[T]he masterful culmination of years of research by a world expert on Alexandria… Halim…introduces Egyptian writers, such as Edwar Al-Kharrat and Ibrahim Abdel Meguid, into the previously predominantly European dialogue.” – Banipal

Hala Halim is Assistant Professor of Middle Eastern Studies and Comparative Literature at New York University.