The great Arab singer, Asmahan was the toast of Cairo song and cinema in the 1930s, as World War II approached. A Druze princess actually named Amal al-Atrash, she came from an important clan in the mountains of Syria, but broke free from her traditional family background, left her husband, and became a public performer, a role frowned upon for women of the time. She was also rumored to be an agent for the allied forces during WWII. Through the story of Asmahan and her musical career, the reader glimpses not only aspects of the cultural and political history of Egypt and Syria between the two world wars, but also the change in attitude in the Arab world toward women as public performers on stage.
- ISBN10 0863563279
- ISBN13 9780863563270
- Publish Date 1 February 2001 (first published 1 January 2001)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Saqi Books
- Format Paperback
- Pages 247
- Language English