Midnight in Cairo

1920s Cairo: a counterculture was on the rise. A passionate group of artists captivated Egyptian society in the city's bars, hash dens and music halls - and the most dazzling and assertive were women. Midnight in Cairo tells the thrilling story of Egypt's interwar nightlife, through the lives of these pioneering women, including dancehall impresario Badia Masabni, innovator of Egyptian cinema Aziza Amir and legendary singer Oum Kalthoum. They exploited the opportunities offered by this new era, while weathering its many prejudices. And they held the keys to this raucous, cosmopolitan city's secrets. Introducing an eccentric cast of characters, Raphael Cormack brings to life a world of revolutionary ideas and provocative art. This is a story of modern Cairo as we have never heard it before.

Raphael Cormack is the editor of The Book of Cairo and the co-editor of The Book of Khartoum. His writing on Arabic literature, culture and history has appeared in the London Review of Books, Prospect, TLS and Apollo Magazine, among others. Cormack received a BA in Classics from Balliol College, University of Oxford, a diploma in Arabic Language from the American University in Cairo, an MA in Middle Eastern Studies from Columbia University, New York, and a PhD in Egyptian theatre from the University of Edinburgh.