{"product_id":"midnight-in-cairo-the-divas-of-egypts-roaring-20s-9781324021933","title":"Midnight in Cairo: The Divas of Egypt's Roaring '20s","description":"\u003cp\u003eOne 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRaphael 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eCormack, Raphael:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cstrong\u003eRaphael Cormack\u003c\/strong\u003e is an award-winning editor and translator and has written on Arabic culture for the \u003cem\u003eLondon Review of Books\u003c\/em\u003e and elsewhere. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.","brand":"W. W. Norton \u0026 Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50520763629842,"sku":"9781324021933","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_29884117-115f-4d28-b1ab-7d4f1a424c56.jpg?v=1731090741","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/midnight-in-cairo-the-divas-of-egypts-roaring-20s-9781324021933","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}